[lutusp]

It shouldn't be such a mystery, because it follows a biological model -- small, simple organisms produce more complex descendants by way of natural selection, all fueled by proteins. The same process creates complex software systems out of simple predecessors, all fueled by coffee.

[bhaak]

The biological model also explains why people can get confused about it.

The chicken or egg problem shows that at some point you lose the connection to the predecessor and the process goes around in endless circles.

Then you might wonder how it ever came to be when the first thing depends on the second and the second depends on the first.

[lutusp]

> The chicken or egg problem shows that at some point you lose the connection to the predecessor and the process goes around in endless circles.

No, this isn't so. It's a myth about biology that's repeated by people who don't understand natural selection. An egg is a chicken's way to make an insurance salesman.

[jlgreco]

You don't have a chicken/egg problem with either biological evolution or computers. With biological evolution abiogenesis is at the bottom of the turtle stack, with computers it is likely some guy poking holes in some cards or rewiring a computer by hand.

Ultimately you don't need life to create life, and ultimately you don't need a computer program to build a computer program. There are other methods, even though we don't see those methods executed today.