Body size and efficiency

Abstract

One of Bertrand Russell's contributions to philosophy was to show that there are certain questions, quite simple to state, to which no sensible answer can be given. While writing this paper I began to feel that the question ‘what is the optimum size of the dairy cow ?’ is perhaps among these. Let me first ask what we mean by the question, what assumptions we have to make to answer it, and finally what use is the answer.