Michael Behe illustrated the principle of irreducible
complexity by comparing a new beneficial structure with a mouse trap. In order
for the mouse trap to be functional and useful, it required a minimum of five
parts. Without just one of them, the trap would be of no use.
There are millions examples of irreducible complexity.
Arguably, every organ or structure is irreducibly complex. A spider web is a
good example of this. Von Vett and Malone write:
·
Spiders are capable of producing one of the
finest filaments strands known to man. These threads can be 10,000 times
thinner than a strand of human hair, yet the silk is five times stronger than
an equivalent weight of steel cable. Scientists have yet to learn to synthesize
an equally strong artificial silk nor do they know how a spider keeps from
clogging its spinnerets as the emerging silk immediately solidifies upon
exposure to oxygen. (Inspired Evidence)
Von Vett and Malone marvel at how a “pre-spider” could have evolved
such an incredible substance, but also have simultaneously
evolved the mechanisms and instincts necessary to use it effectively without
getting caught in its own web.
In order for the spider to derive any advantage out of his
silk, he would also have required the ability to make a web out of it. And these
abilities and organs had to exist simultaneously!
To have the silk without the instinct and tools to make the web would not have
given him any advantage. Instead, the silk would have been a useless
encumbrance.
Since natural selection can only work gradually, the theory
of evolution remains a car without an engine. From the outside, it might appear
substantial, but it is incapable of going anywhere.
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