Eggs Have Down
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Hui Shi's argument that the egg contains the down: the chick emerges with feathers, so the potential for feathers must have existed in the egg in some form even though no feather is yet visible. As an investment model it distinguishes a thing's manifest state from its latent potential, and it argues that early-stage judgment must be made on the encoded capability rather than on the visible shell, which is the only thing current evidence displays.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Separate state from potential: name what is visible and what is latent. - Assay the gene: ask which capabilities are already encoded inside. - Bet the latent: place the wager on the potential, not on the current form.
Anchor fast decisions
The manifest state and the latent potential are different objects, and potential precedes manifestation. Because the visible form is a lagging indicator of what is encoded within, judgment at the early stage has to read the encoded capability or it will always arrive after the value is already priced in.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikisource.orghttps://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%8E%8A%E5%AD%90/%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8Bverified
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