Art-Rock Allegory

Contrary to what it may seem like, I have been busy writing; just not for this particular blog.

[ Crossposting from Quora where I tried to answer the question “Why hasn’t anyone ever seen an an animal give birth to an animal of a different species?” ]

An answer in an art-rock allegory.

Imagine you are carving a statue out of a huge chunk of solid rock. Before you begin, the rock is just a rock. After you are done, the rock is gone and replaced by a marvelous (one would hope) piece of art.

As you are chiseling away you start to wonder: with which exact blow of the hammer does the rock suddenly transform from stone into sculpture? Why do we not suddenly see art appear where there was only a boulder before?

Individual animals are like chips falling to the ground as mother nature patiently carves up new marvels. Species are imaginary constructs we use to group individual pieces of the puzzle, but they can only hint at the true nature of the masterpiece they were hewn from.

When considered up close, each animal is neither rock nor art.

Art rock.