CAN EVOLUTION PRODUCE AN EYE? Evolution vs. Creation

The Ignorant Fishermen Blog ^ | 1/1/94 | Dr. David N. Menton, Ph.D.

[The Ignorant Fisherman]

The following is by Dr. David N. Menton, Ph.D. It is copyrighted 1994 by Missouri Association for Creation --

The human brain consists of approximately 12 billion cells, forming 120 trillion interconnections. The light sensitive retina of the eye (which is really part of the brain) contains over 10 million photoreceptor cells. These cells capture the light pattern formed by the lens and convert it into complex electrical signals, which are then sent to a special area of the brain where they are transformed into the sensation we call vision.

In an article in "Byte" magazine (April 1985), John Stevens compares the signal processing ability of the cells in the retina with that of the most sophisticated computer designed by man, the Cray supercomputer:

[The Ignorant Fisherman]

The Fool has said there is no God! (Psalm 14:1-3, Romans 1:19-22)

[bray]

This is one of the biggest black holes of Darwinism. How does an eye evolve?

Pray for America’s Freedom

[stormer]

The simple answer is “yes”. But I know you must have some questions. Start here, and when you get done with these, I’ll send some more.

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S016895259901776X
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2688200
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0944200604700215
http://www.genestocellsonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/1/1/11
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0959437X95800298
http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/3/185
http://benzerserver.caltech.edu/pdf/cv112.pdf
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0047248401904683

[john in springfield]

Short answer: yes.

[stormer]

Ruh roh!

Insight Into Eye Evolution Deals Blow To Intelligent Design http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20050822230316data_trunc_sys.shtml

[stormer]

[Allen In Texas Hill Country]

More “Snap Your Finger” time.

[mnehring]

Actually, yes. At that, it is one of the best documented transitions. The gene changes have even been mapped in the mollusk family from light sensitive cells through the very advanced squid eye.

[raygunfan]

yes, of course it can invent an eye, IT HAS TOO, and of course, you can take drawings and lay then in an order to fool folks into believing a light sensitive cell (THAT APPARENTLY JUST POPPED INTO EXISTANCE AS WELL) turned step by step into an eye...

because it, HAS TO, THE RELIGION REQUIRES IT....

Handwaving at its finest.

[remaxagnt]

still waiting for a crackpot evoloutionsist to tell me how come in our lifetime a dog has never produced anyhting but a dog same with any other species. its the core principle of eviloution and when did eviloution stop? ask many and none ever have the 2 answers that are vital to there made up theory.

[ctdonath2]

Or, to put it another way, “LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA I’m going to ignore every fact before me LA LA LA LA LA”.

Do you really expect a complete total answer that will fit on your computer screen, understandable at a glance? or will you acknowledge that there is a plain logical sequencing of reasonable transitions backed up by real-world examples?

As a Creationist, I do find the arguments of fellow believers on the whole downright stupid and embarrassing. Much of the science is there, and snide dismissals doesn’t advance the cause any more than threatening to burn Galileo at the stake did.

Getting life to start at all, now there’s the interesting question...

[ctdonath2]

In an article in "Byte" magazine (April 1985)

Yeah, there's a real good basis for modern scientific creationism: an electronic hobbyist magazine from 25 years ago.

Hey...I probably still have that issue...

[raygunfan]

and as a creationist, im not expecting an all encompassing explaination of how the eye came to be....i nvr said that, i merely pointed out that all we are given is pretty pics and graphs PLACED IN A SPECIFIC ORDER to fool folks into believing eyes evolved from a light sensitive spot.....all with ‘just so’ stories used as scientific evidence.

evolutionism is a a humanist religion, and im not an adherent, nor am i ignorant or stupid enough to believe in that fairy tale.

[The Ignorant Fisherman]

I’ll get right on it... just after I evolve some wings and a elephant trunk... You create a 747 out of nothing and then get back to me. think it through my friend

[stormer]

I don’t know what wings, a trunk, or a 747 have to do with anything (nor do I suspect you do either), but you were the one who asked about the evolution of eyes. I produced peer reviewed scientific articles discussing that - do with them what you will.

[Mikey]

"The Fool has said there is no God! (Psalm 14:1-3, Romans 1:19-22)"

The world has followed the lie.

Tehillim 14: 1-3,

"The fool has said in his heart, there is no YaHWeH. They have done corruptly, they have done an abominable deed, there is no one who does good. YaHWeH looked down from the heavens on the sons of mankind, to see if there is a wise one, seeking YaHWeH. They have all turned aside. "

Yeshayahu 65: 11,

"But you are those who forsake YaHWeH, who forget my set apart mountain , who prepare a table for Gad , and fill a drink offering for meni."

Stop believing the lie. Come out her my people.
The Remnant Ministry

[bray]

Nice pictures, do you have the Disney fish to man movie too?

Pray for America and Our Troops

[LiteKeeper]

The simple answer is “no” - read the original article!

[GodGunsGuts]

I’m surprise we haven’t crossed paths before! Give me a ping on these, and I’ll be sure to ping my ping list in the future. And if you would like to be on the HMS Creation ping list yourself, feel free to drop me a line.

All the best—GGG

[GodGunsGuts]

Ping!

[fso301]

Scripture is too vague to take a hard stand but to me, the greatest act of creation would be for God to have set everything in motion at the big bang rather than periodically stepping in to "intelligently design" something.

[Oztrich Boy]

[Oztrich Boy]

Yeah, there's a real good basis for modern scientific creationism: an electronic hobbyist magazine from 25 years ago.

Has there been much progress in computers in the past 25 years?

[GodGunsGuts]

Ooops...that ping wasn’t just meant for just you, it was meant for the list! Here goes again...

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[BlueDragon]

And here I'd thought you had grown past such low [ahem] discussion.

'Ya had me going there, for a while...

Bottom feeders are the easiest type of fish to catch.

Many are "discards" though. It's a problem, all the way around.

"read between the lines for secret message"

[BlueDragon]

Has there been much progress in computers in the past 25 years?

Random mutation, plus eons of time, and who knows what one will come up with?

[stormer]

Now there’s something to look forward to!

[stormer]

I did. Now you read the ones I posted. Then we’ll talk.

[count-your-change]

All that’s needed is a chart with arrows and anything can be formed. A->Z no problem.

[BlueDragon]

I wasn't posting to you. Judging from your response, you didn't figure out what I was saying, though admittedly I was being obscure, although not without leaving clues. For all that you are most certainly excused.

Sorry you missed them, but then again I wasn't talking to you, now was I?

[grey_whiskers]

It's too true, the Orioles aren't the franchise they used to be.

Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Boog Powell, Paul Blair, Dave McNally, ...

NO cheers, unfortunately.

[BlueDragon]

It's too true, the Orioles aren't the franchise...

too funny!

Those [expletive deleted] yankees just tied up the Series 1-1, a few hours ago.

Good ball club, for a bunch of....

[stormer]

I’m sorry. Were you talking to me?

[count-your-change]

One of the links discussed blind cave fish. Did you find whether it was loss or gain of gene function that accounted for the blindness and how?

[xcamel]

Yes, hundreds of times.

[xcamel]

Kind of like the creationist brain — what you don’t use, you lose.

[count-your-change]

But of course, that's one lesson we should learn from the Scriptures, that God is sovereign and doesn't have to do things the way we think He should or might.

[whattajoke]

till waiting for a crackpot evoloutionsist to tell me how come in our lifetime a dog has never produced anyhting but a dog same with any other species.

If you expect a mammalian species to evolve into another species in 65-90 years, and you hold that as your "evidence" against evolution, you are hopeless. Please refer us to where in the world such an absurdly rapid speciation event is expected to happen to a mammal.

Since you mention dogs, I'm curious what your thoughts are on just where wolves, foxes, dingos and dholes fit into your version of the canine world.

Bonus Question: What the heck are these cute little guys?

[ctdonath2]

Depends on whether you consider a 1000x increase in speed and 100000x increase in memory “progress”.

[tacticalogic]

So, based on this article, you’re prepared to assert that God could not have created life with the ability to evolve an eye.

[DavidAccord]

You would be surprised what evolution can produce given that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old.

[tacticalogic]

A polymorphic self-replicating molecular program could could come up with a lot of different combinations in that amount of time.

[ctdonath2]

Has there been much progress in computers in the past 25 years?

You could say it has ... evolved.

[DavidAccord]

Up until 4.2 billion years ago, the highest form of life was the amoeba, a one-celled creature.

The only way we progressed to humans is that the world is not perfect. If it were perfect, the amoeba would have never morphed into anything else.

And if the world were perfect, who would need to buy paper towels for spills?

[whattajoke]

Up until 4.2 billion years ago, the highest form of life was the amoeba, a one-celled creature.

I don't think amoebae were around that far back. At least there's not fossil record of them AFAIK. The earliest we are aware of date to the Neoprotozoic Era, which dates back "only" half a billion years.

[stormer]

It doesn't matter - the change in allele frequency that brings about modification in the structure of the eye is enough to prove that evolution has taken place. This is not simply an example of phenotypic plasticity.

[stormer]

Very cute, and not an animal I was familiar with, so I decided to do a quick bit of research. Here are my favorite factoids:

Statues of tanuki can be found outside many Japanese temples and restaurants, especially noodle shops. These statues often wear big, cone-shaped hats and carry bottles of sake in one hand, and a promissory note or empty purse in the other hand. Tanuki statues always have large bellies. The statues also usually show humorously large testicles, typically hanging down to the floor or ground, although this feature is sometimes omitted in contemporary sculpture.

A common schoolyard song in Japan makes explicit reference to the tanuki's anatomy:

Tan Tan Tanuki no kintama wa, Kaze mo nai no ni, Bura bura

Roughly translated, this means, Tan-tan-tanuki's testicles, there isn't even any wind but still go swing-swing-swing.

It continues for several verses, with many regional variations. It is sung to the melody of an American Baptist hymn called "Shall We Gather At The River?".

Is Japan a great country, or what?

[whattajoke]

Very cute, and not an animal I was familiar with, so I decided to do a quick bit of research.

Another factoid: In Super Mario Brothers 3, one of the best designed video games of my era, when Mario grabbed the leaf to gain the ability to fly, he's called "Tanuki Mario." And all the while we just called him "Racoon Mario."

Anyway, I'm still curious what the creationist take on Tanukis is. I mean... What are they? Racoons? Dogs? Badgers? Surely they have a simple answer.

[Zman516]

You could say it has ... evolved

And computers did it all by themselves! No 'intelligence' involved here! /sarc