Is it an egg or a hen?
Samuel Butler said (1877),

A hen is only an egg’s way of making another egg.

I have quite a bit to say about this in The Information. The subject, as you might guess, is genes. And then memes. There have been some witty variations on this theme. One of my personal favorites is Daniel Dennett’s (1995):

A scholar is a library’s way of making another library.

Dear reader, can you offer more along these lines? (Use Google if you want, but you’ll have to skip past the sites with instructions on boiling, scrambling, and poaching.)

Contact

Find me in the open social web (fediverse; Mastodon): @JamesGleick@zirk.us

Literary agent:
Michael Carlisle
at Inkwell Management,
521 Fifth Ave.,
New York 10175.

Or send a private message.