This week a colleague sent me a notice about a seminar at NYU titled “Sex in Humans and Birds — What’s the Difference.” I sent off a quick reply that I would not be attending, the implication being that I thought I had a good grasp on the main differences. Then this colleague sent another email probing my knowledge of bird reproduction. Turns out I know very little about the topic.
I am not alone in my lack of knowledge about how the world works.
I am in Kenya with 17 students from Duke University and an assortment of other smart people. As I was helping a Kenyan friend to develop a business plan for producing and selling eggs this week, I polled the group about the number of eggs a hen lays in a month. Answers ranged from 5 to 72. There was also a question about the need for a rooster.
Someone in this group will probably be running a major company in 20 years, just not a poultry plant.
