Short Stories

Cookies and the Universe

The universe is a large cookie.
I am a chocolate chip.

Some people don't like chocolate chip cookies.
Some people don't like me.

Some people are fine with all kinds of cookies.
And those people are fine with me.

Other people love chocolate chips in their cookies.
These people are my friends.

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Sometimes I wonder if one chocolate chip really makes a difference in a chocolate chip cookie. I mean really, can you tell when a cookie has 14 chips instead of 15?

Probably not. Not if you don't look for it.

And people won't notice you, not unless they look for you.

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Let us imagine a chocolate chip cookie.
Now, imagine the same exact cookie, but for some reason, there is one less chocolate chip in it. Maybe I ran out, or didn't scoop them out optimally.

Can you tell the difference between those cookies?

Now repeat this exercise, with the second cookie, and a third having one less chip in it that the second did.

Can you tell now?

Do it again.
And again.
And again.

When can you tell?

Now let us invert this exercise.

Imagine a plain cookie, which was baked alongside the first cookie.

It has no chocolate chips on it.

Now imagine, that while I was making these cookie, one of the chips which was supposed to be on the first cookie, miraculously ended up in the plain cookie.

Is it now a chocolate chip cookie? Surely it is no longer a plain cookie, it has chocolate in it. But surely it cannot be a chocolate chip cookie with so few chocolate chips.

Now imagine the same scenario, but this time two chocolate chips end up in the plain cookie.

Is it a chocolate chip cookie yet?

-

A single chocolate chip isn't very filling or tasty.
A handful of chocolate chips is more filling and, at least arguably, tastier.