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Saturday, September 14. 2013

Another chink in the Intelligent Design theory


One of the main 'proofs' the Intelligent Design people cite is that the eye is simply too complex for evolution to have developed on its own.


My personal feeling is, if nature can create this...



...then it can create pretty much anything.


Furthermore, we-


"Oh, Doc, that's such bullshit!  Evolution, create the eye?  Get serious!  What's next, interlocking gears?"


Well, uh, actually, yes.




Creature with interlocking gears on legs discovered



Gears are ubiquitous in the man-made world, found in items ranging from wristwatches to car engines, but it seems that nature invented them first.

A species of plant-hopping insect, Issus coleoptratus, is the first living creature known to possess functional gears, a new study finds. The two interlocking gears on the insect's hind legs help synchronize the legs when the animal jumps.

Burrows and a colleague captured the gears' motion using high-speed video. As the young bug prepares to leap, it meshes the gear teeth of one leg with those of the other, like cocking a gun. Then, the insect releases its legs in one smooth, explosive motion.



Learn somethin' new every day.



Bite me, Darwinists!


Of course, not everyone might agree.  My own post on the 'How we got here' question is here.

Posted by Dr. Mercury in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 10:30 | Comments (38) | Trackbacks (0)

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People of faith have a logical idea of what life is all about.
#1 chasmatic (Link) on 2013-09-14 10:54 (Reply)
You're exactly correct. I, myself, have faith in Darwinism, so I know what you mean. Long live people of faith!
    #1.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-14 10:59 (Reply)
    I'm not often surprised, but this one gets an official "Damn interesting!" in my book. Who woulda thunk it?
    #2 Jimbo on 2013-09-14 11:01 (Reply)
    What if you're both right to some degree?
    #3 phil g on 2013-09-14 11:15 (Reply)
    If you're referring to Chazbo and me, well, that's the great thing about the word 'faith'.

    "I don't believe in God, and I have a lot of faith in my belief!"

    If I ever do a follow-up to my 'Meaningless Words' post, look for it to be on the list.
      #4 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-14 11:18 (Reply)
      Although "Chazbo" is a poor choice for a pejorative nickname I don't think it merits being included on the meaningless Meaningless Word list.
      #4.1 chasmatic (Link) on 2013-09-15 10:45 (Reply)
      But, but... your argument was completely illogical.
      "You say Evolution can't do this, well what about this?".
      Dat's not an argument, since the obvious answer is to say "You're just proving my point. More stuff Evolution can't do."
      #5 Clovis Sangrail on 2013-09-14 11:34 (Reply)
      Darn, I was hoping to change the title before someone noticed it, but I had to do a rush Web job for a client. It started off with the intent to (delicate blush) 'prove' ID existed, but then it ended up going the direction it did. All changed now.

      By the way, good eyes. :)
        #5.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-14 11:41 (Reply)
        How do we know evolution produced the platypus? Looks like a humorous designer to me.
        #6 Bruce on 2013-09-14 12:46 (Reply)
        Well, you're right, in the sense that it begs the question, Does evolution have a sense of humor? Because if not, then the ID people need look no further for proof.
          #6.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-14 12:49 (Reply)
          God did some of the design work Himself--like Eve--and some of it He delegated.

          The angel in charge of Australia's fauna tended to drink a bit.
          #6.1.1 John on 2013-09-15 08:38 (Reply)
          That's actually pretty funny. If you looked at a kangaroo objectively, one's first thought might be, "Who in their right mind would ever design this??

          But, throw a little Jack Daniels into the mix and suddenly it makes sense. :)
            #6.1.1.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-15 09:26 (Reply)
            Doc,
            You are one stylish SoB!

            I don't know what I think about Evolution.
            As a mathematician (and hence a privileged onlooker to the rough-and-tumble of real, empirical science) I remain unconvinced by the theoretical underpinnings of the Theory of Evolution but your post keeps me on the edge of my seat.

            Gear-legs is about to be added to my lexicon of weird compliments.
            #7 Clovis Sangrail on 2013-09-14 16:44 (Reply)
            Dear Gear-Legs (or 'Gleggy', as his friends call him):

            As far as evolution goes, I have two comments:

            1. The more I've seen of nature in my 63 years, the less amazed I am by what nature can do. If they discovered a whale with antlers and wings tomorrow, I honestly wouldn't be very surprised. Nature is what makes "amazing" a human word, because nature simply by its mere existence is amazing.

            2. Like a lot of venues, it's one thing to talk about it from the ivory tower, something else again when you witness it firsthand, which I believe I did here.

            Fifteen years later and it still looks like evolution was just making a little side experiment; just testing out a little idea that suddenly occurred to it. When you have a million years available per test, there's no particular hurry.
              #7.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-14 16:58 (Reply)
              What I want to know is if God used an ark to transport all of these animals all over the place, how did all the marsupials end up in the Southern Hemisphere? Also, as many watches are now digital, do you think we'll one day find an animal with an "electronic gearing mechanism"? Will we find bats have heads-up displays? These are questions that need to be answered. Doc, a little help please.
              #8 Jephnol (Link) on 2013-09-14 22:10 (Reply)
              RE: how did all the marsupials end up in the Southern Hemisphere?

              They didn't.
              #8.1 Thomas on 2013-09-14 23:04 (Reply)
              By God you're right!
              #8.1.1 Jephnol (Link) on 2013-09-14 23:32 (Reply)
              How did marsupials migrate primarily to the Southern Hemisphere if they were deposited on Mount Ararat after the shipwreck? Here's one point of view.
              #9 Jephnol (Link) on 2013-09-14 23:59 (Reply)
              The young ones were carried there by African Swallows. It was covered in an early Monty Python documentary on the subject. As they conclusively proved, that's also how coconuts migrated. Thank goodness science can explain these mysteries!
                #9.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-15 06:22 (Reply)
                Well, actually Doc, recent studies by a panel of experts reveal that the wind and tide patterns of that time period allowed many things to just float to their destinations. God knew what he was doing; after all, He created the winds and tides. Oh, and God is not a micro-manager. He flung the stuff about at random much as a sower empties his sack, and then He dusted off His hands and stepped back. "There, you're on your own." Some of the seed landed on fertile ground, some on the barren rocks, and the dregs of the sack wound up floating to Florida. It is written.
                #9.1.1 chasmatic (Link) on 2013-09-15 10:40 (Reply)
                You'd think the guy in the Monty Python documentary would have known that!
                  #9.1.1.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-15 10:48 (Reply)
                  There's a lot of things the guy doesn't know.

                  Es irrt der Mensch so lang er strebt.
                  #9.1.1.1.1 chasmatic (Link) on 2013-09-15 11:05 (Reply)
                  Well, he seemed to make a few good points, such as when he said, "It's not a question of where he grips it. It's a simple question of weight ratios. A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut."

                  More of the discussion here.
                    #9.1.1.1.1.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-15 11:11 (Reply)
                    Achh, scientists always get bogged down in details. I have no such constraint. Sometimes ya gotta just reach out and capture the moment. Edison, the Wright Brothers, Otto Frederick Rohwedder, &
                    #9.1.1.1.1.1.1 chasmatic (Link) on 2013-09-15 11:25 (Reply)
                    If we really believe that evolution is correct, why are we worried about birds and bats being killed by windmills and such? Bird Dog posted this yesterday:

                    http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/09/12/study-says-wind-farms-have-killed-alarming-number-eagles/?intcmp=features#ixzz2eguxj4Iy

                    Those birds killed by the windmills didn't meet the Darwin minimum standards and were not fit for the survival of the species.
                    #10 Dave on 2013-09-15 10:33 (Reply)
                    If I'm reading you right, then if I drive over to your house and blow your ass away with a shotgun, then you deserved it because you had a million years to develop armor plating and failed to do so?
                    #10.1 John McKenna on 2013-09-15 10:44 (Reply)
                    "Deserve it" doesn't play any part in survival of the fittest. There's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip. Perhaps you would discover that the same million years did not help you develop better marksmanship or judgment. Might be your ass getting blowed away. Not getting all up on ya, John, just suggesting that there could be several outcomes in any confrontation.
                    #10.1.1 chasmatic (Link) on 2013-09-15 10:55 (Reply)
                    ""Deserve it" doesn't play any part in survival of the fittest."

                    Uh, tell it to Dave, he started it, and that was precisely his point. Any birds dumb enough to be killed by windmill blades 'deserve it' because they didn't develop the necessary skills to avoid them. I looked at that and am still trying what windmill blades have to do with evolution, which is solely an aspect of the natural world.
                      #10.1.1.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-15 11:01 (Reply)
                      Doc has it right. After all, I can't create anything so nothing is creatable. It makes perfect sense that a few molecules millions of years ago luckily came together to create life and then EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD "evolved" from that one meaningless accident. Absolutely no faith required there and it's a good thing; I am too smart to believe anything that I can't see or touch. I am superior by virtue of "evolution"; too bad you Christian, ignorant, uneducated, morons didn't come along on the ride.
                      #11 mrragman on 2013-09-15 10:43 (Reply)
                      "Doc has it right."

                      "from that one meaningless accident."

                      I take it you didn't read my post on the subject. "Meaningless accident" is the exact opposite of what I wrote.
                        #11.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-15 10:50 (Reply)
                        Straight-cut gears. That bug must be noisy. Evolve helical-cut already...
                        #12 Mike in Montreal on 2013-09-15 14:12 (Reply)
                        No Zerk fittings implies self-lubricating. Or something like Teflon. Heck, there's some countries in the world that don't even have Teflon. Or grease. Or insects, come to think of it.
                        #12.1 chasmatic (Link) on 2013-09-15 14:37 (Reply)
                        Mike - I forwarded your complaint to the local Issus Coleoptratus Society and he wrote back, "Keep your shirt on! We're workin' on it! Check back in a million years and we think you'll be pleasantly surprised!" So I suppose he's got a point in that there's no sense rushing these things. :)
                          #12.2 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-15 14:37 (Reply)
                          How about those moose though? My sister got bitten by a moose once. It was nasti
                          #13 Dale on 2013-09-16 08:47 (Reply)
                          Uh? Moose have teeth? I reckon that's another indicator of Doc's revolution evolution theory.

                          Who would have thought that from the random collision of a few random molecules at a random time in the past we would get to moose having teeth?

                          Oh well, We make what vessels we can with the poor clay God gives us.
                          #13.1 chasmatic (Link) on 2013-09-16 10:54 (Reply)
                          "Uh? Moose have teeth?"

                          Amazingly, so do deer and elk. A Google search even pops up sites with moose teeth jewelry. But thanks for making it 'my' evolutionary theory. I'll get hold of Darwin's descendents immediately and demand a royalty from the book.

                          As for your using the word "random" twice, who says it was random?
                            #13.1.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-16 11:03 (Reply)
                            Stranger than you think: the platypus is one of the few poisonous mammals.
                            #14 ErisGuy on 2013-09-16 16:35 (Reply)
                            As I recall, it has poisonous claws of some type on its feet, like around its ankles. It's also one of the very few mammals that lays eggs. I think John's comment 6.1.1 up above probably came closest to nailing it.
                              #14.1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2013-09-16 17:31 (Reply)

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