The Fundamentals of Universal Design
A cross examination of evolution
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Here we examine the argumentation that supports the idea of Universal Design, i.e. that the Universe, the Earth, and Life on it arrived as a result of intentional design.
This is also where we put the theory of Evolution under the microscope, or perhaps more apt, into the dock, to be subjected to a cross-examination!
An "Exquisite Symphonic Masterpiece"
This section discusses some of the most complex objects known to science. For example, DNA has been called the Blueprint for Life. In so many fascinating ways, this is true, but there is much more to DNA that adds to the argument that it has been purposefully designed.
A Living Code
Above is a representation of the "code" of DNA.
Each piece of this 3.2 billion molecule strand is like a single letter in a complex instruction manual. Only by building all of these letters into meaningful words, and then each word into an intelligent sentence, and coordinating the intention and meaning of each sentence, can the entire "manual" make any sense in the construction of a complete body: be that human, animal, vegetable, or bacteria.
DNA is like a complex, constructed language, and it produces the variety of amazing life on earth. Could a blind process, with no consciousness of its existence, produce this?
What do you think?
Protein Molecules
This is an artist's representation of a protein molecule. Proteins are constantly being built and put to use within our bodies. But these molecules are very complex in their construction, and some are outrageously complicated. After construction they are folded into a specific shape using a set of rules ("laws") -- and the shape then determines the protein's function within the cell. But one protein can have as many as 300 folds. And the combination of this number of folds is well beyond "astronomical".
Consider this: how long would it take you to count through the full combinations of folds for a molecule of this size; that is, to simply count up from 1 to the number 10^300 (that's a number with 300 zeros after it!) ? And how fast do you think a modern computer might be able to do it, to merely count to that number? The answer is: far longer than the age of the universe (in fact, many multiple orders of magnitude longer)!
Did you know that our bodies produce an average of 3.8 million proteins every second? And this is not mere "counting," but includes a complicated construction process that our bodies perform without our conscious intervention!
What do you think? Could an undirected process of chance that evolutionists support really manage such a complex and well-ordered task?
The Human Brain
Computer experts have been working recently on building their own equivalent of the human brain (the "most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe.") Their plan is to model their creation on the neurons of the brain and their many interconnections, to try and obtain the type of complex activity that the human brain achieves.
More recently, however, a considerable blow has been delivered to this effort. It is now known that neurons are many times more complex than previously thought. There are around 100 billion of these in each human brain. But within every neuron there are over a billion microtubules (see below), each sending data communications millions of times faster than inter-neuron firing. Not bad for a blind, purposeless process that has no concept of intentional order and arrangement!
This new research on the microtubules of the brain may lead to new information on how consciousness works (as famous mathematical physicist Sir Roger Penrose proposes). But even if it does not, the newly perceived complexity of the human brain has had a growth spurt by many multiple orders of magnitude!
Aquaporins
These tiny tubes control the flow of water in and out of your cells (among other duties). Without them, cells could not survive.
They are actively involved in brain water balance, cell migration, cell proliferation, neural activity, pain, epidermal hydration, and the function of the eye and its central visual system.
Not bad for a blind, purposeless process that has no concept of intentional order and arrangement!
Microtubules
These are sometimes called "The cell's engineering language," and occur in most cells, but are formed very differently in the brain's neurons. They transfer information millions of times faster than neuron-to-neuron transport. And every neuron in our brains contains a billion or more of these.
Not bad for a blind, purposeless process that has no concept of intentional order and arrangement!
From Atoms to Galaxies
Imagine how enormous the list of items would be, if we included everything from the tiniest ultramicroscopic particles to the enormous galactic cosmic web! Now we see that every object in that progressive list is subject to intrinsic immutable “laws” or properties (the “laws of physics”) that are each independent yet are all in perfect harmony like an enormous exquisite symphonic masterpiece.
Scientists struggle even to understand many of these laws, but they are unable to explain their origin -– i.e. although there are theories that attempt to describe the origin of “matter,” no serious attempt is made to explain empirically the origin of these critical, physical, fundamental “laws.”
Therefore, if evolution itself was in the dock, without a doubt the barrister would persist with the question, "Where did these laws come from"?
What is your conclusion?
The Protein Folding Problem
As remarked above, some protein chains are incredibly long, with as many as 10 to the power of 300 (10^300) potential folds. How would you arrange the correct shape for these monster proteins?
An enthusiastic team of scientists have recently spent many years working on a computer system that, with some ingenious programming, engagement and feedback from the scientific community, a healthy dose of time, effort and good fortune, might just be able to reproduce what our bodies manage effortlessly.
Their project, known as AlphaFold, uses deep learning, a type of AI that mimics the way the human brain processes information. It was trained on a vast amount of data from known protein structures, allowing it to recognize patterns and predict new structures apparently with high accuracy.
This impressive project has many potential benefits that scientists will no doubt endeavour to put into application in time.
However, from the perspective of design, and our current discussion, if the project eventually succeeds in completely solving the complex protein folding problem, what do you suppose this would actually prove? . . . That high intelligence, an outstanding array of skills, and carefully coordinated planning are required to effectively design and manufacture proteins! So how did an undirected process of blind chance accomplish this?
Theoretical Physicist Sabine Hossenfelder explains the complexity of the protein folding problem in this YouTube video.
Scientists, when discussing Albert Einstein's famous equation e=mc^2 often explain that matter and energy are manifestations of the same thing. So, instead of asking evolutionists, "Where did the matter come from in the first place?" the real question they should be considering is, "Where did the energy come from?"
What do you think?
© Copyright 2024, Michael A. Barber. All rights reserved.
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