Freaks of Evolution Part 6

The Tasmanian Wolf

This incredible example of convergent evolution has been extinct since around 1936. Despite its name, the Tasmanian wolf isn’t a dog at all. It is actually a marsupial! That’s right; It has a pouch, and is closely “related” to the kangaroo. Some people say it hopped like one on occasion, but this is un-confirmed. So how in the world did a dog get a pouch? Or otherwise, how did a kangaroo evolve into a perfect dog impersonator? Scientists are still puzzled. They claim that the similarity is the result of marsupials filling in the vacant position of dogs (who weren’t around yet) in the Australian eco-system.

Problem
Unfortunately, there are any number of designs for animals that I’m sure could have roughly the same effect as a canine on an eco-system. Not only that, every eco-system is different, making it even less possible that natural selection could have fine-tuned a perfect dog look-alike. So really we have to rely on blind chance to magically create two extremely similar species with different DNA and internal anatomy. I don’t think so. Another case of convergent evolution, and another stike against to the entire hypothesis of evolution.

Evolution Today

A lot has changed in 200 years...
Do you realize how far the study of science has come in the last century? It was only 105 years ago, that flight was discovered by the Write brothers. The first controlled nuclear chain reaction was 66 years ago. The first time a man walked on the moon was only 39 years ago! If our understanding of science has changed so much in the past century, why should we still believe, unquestioningly, in the ideas of a man born 200 years ago? Much less in a man with no scientific notability except a bachelors degree in medicine! I hope you’re surprised to find that most people do. In fact, much of our tax money is used to support his ideas, and make students question the existence of God in our public schools. Of course, I’m talking about macro evolution.

A quote you won't hear in class
Charles Darwin seemed to realize that as science advanced, his ideas might be proven wrong. He even said, “What is true in my book will survive, and that which is error will be blown away as chaff.” So, has evolution been confirmed over the years, or “blown away”. I hope that by the time you are done reading this website, you will be better informed in the truth. Evolution cannot compete with modern science. The only reason that people think evolution is viable is that everyone else does, and if they question evolution they will be ridiculed and called a "Creationist". Here is one example of a way that modern science has brought problems in Charles Darwin’s Ideas to light. Also, read the other posts on this website, to get an even better idea of the types of problems evolution now faces.

Structural Homology
As Charles Darwin studied different species, he discovered a trend in the skeletal structure of vastly different creatures. For instance, if you would examine the bones in the forearm of a bat, porpoise, bird, and human, you would find that they are quite similar. They all have a Humerus in their upper arm, and two bones, (one called a radius, the other an ulna) in its lower arm. And, like the human hand, they have carpals, metacarpals, and phalanges in the hand. In fact, with the exception of the bird, they all have five digits! Of course, the bones have each been adapted to suit each creatures needs, for instance, (a bats digits are longer than its lower arm). Darwin saw this, and decided it was clear evidence that all these creatures all came from the same ancestor. In his day, this was a valid observation. However, back in Darwin’s time, no one knew how traits were passed from parent, to offspring. Genetics is a fairly new field.

What they wish we never learned
So what’s the problem? Well, now that we know how DNA works, we can look at the chromosomes that contain the DNA that tells an animal what types of bones to grow. If structural homology is the result of common ancestry, then the DNA that tells these creatures what types of bones to make should also be similar. However, no two DNA strands resemble each other at all! Impossible? Yes, unless you’re talking about intelligent design. The only one who could build similar structures out of completely different DNA sequences is God. After all, He wrote the genetic code. I personally think he used the same forearm design multiple times because it worked well. As to the genetic side of structural homology, I think god used totally different DNA sequences so that no one could discredit him for his awesome creation.

Micro, Not Macro
This is just one example of how multiple branches of science contradict macro evolution. There are so many out there I will never be able to write about all of them. You know, I don’t think Charles Darwin was that bad of a guy. He was a careful researcher, and he realized that his ideas were not all going to be scientifically valid forever. If scientists today were as open minded as Charles Darwin, I guarantee, we would be hearing a very different message in our public schools. Although Darwin's work with micro evolution contributed greatly to the science of biology, he took his ideas too far, and tried to explain all of life with macro evolution. I think Darwin has a place in the classroom for his work with micro evolution and natural selection, but lets be fair and say macro evolution is being taught like a law, when in reality it is flawed, and is less scientifically noteworthy than intelligent design.

Freaks of Evolution Part 4

The Squid
The squid is an example of what is called “convergent evolution”. Although the squid is not at all similar to humans, (at least, most humans) the squid’s eye is almost exactly like our own. Humans have some of the best eyesight in the world. For an incredible wonder of optical engineering like the human eye to evolve once by random chance is so close to impossible that it is not worth mentioning. But to assume that the human eye evolved seperatly in both human and squid really pushes it over the edge.

Evolving an Eye
The eye is a hard feature to explain with evolution because so many different things have to be working perfectly before it can do its owner any good at all. Evolution depends on random mutations causing creatures to gain advantages over their competitors. This ensures that they would be the most likely to live, and pass on their mutations to their offspring. But what is the advantage of having an eye that can’t see yet? It would take generations upon generations, (according to evolutionists) to build up enough beneficial mutations to create a working eye. And all these generations would have no advantage to ensure their survival.

Perfecting an Eye
Now suppose you already had a functioning eye, (like the supposed ancestor of the squid would have had). What would it take to mutate this primitive eye into an eye resembling a human? Well, according to macro evolutionists, it would be like throwing the most complex, expensive camera off a cliff, running to the bottom, and finding that your camera has mutated into a better camera. Even a simple eye is more complex than any camera. And mutations are like throwing something off a cliff, extremely destructive! As I said above, every part of the eye must be working perfectly for the eye to function. This includes the Iris, Pupil, Dilator and Sphincter muscles, Lacrimal gland, Lacrimal sac, Eye muscles, Cornea, Lens, Conjunctiva, Retina Choroid, Sclera, Ciliary body, Vitreous humor, Macula Lutea, Fovea, Optic nerve, And rods and cones. A slight mutation to any of these could cause the entire eye to fail. Now assuming you threw two completely different cameras off a cliff. Even if they both mutated into a better camera you would never expect them to turn into the same type of camera would you? But according to macro evolutionists that is exactly what happened with the squid and human.

Freaks of Evolution Part 2

The platypus
The platypus is probably the most famous and popular evolution-defying creature on the planet. In fact, when explorers first brought stories and skins of these amazing animals, the scientists of the day refused to believe they were real! They thought the explorers must have sown together a few different animals as a joke. Obviously, this is a case of convergent evolution. convergent evolution is when a similar characteristic supposedly evolves in two separate animals. The platypus has a bill and webbed feet like a duck, a tail like a beaver, and lays eggs like a reptile.
To have all these features combined into one animal defies all attempts to explain its evolution. Other special features include an electro-sensors built into its bill, super fine fur (900 hairs per mm), and flaps of skin that protect its eyes and ears when diving. Clearly, the platypus is the result of a creative designer, not random chance. It continues to frustrate those poor souls in charge of putting it on an evolutionary family tree!

Freaks of Evolution Part 1

Who you calling a freak?
Ok, first let me get one thing strait, freaks of evolution aren’t demented biology professors. Freaks of evolution, as I will call them, are strange, and highly unlikely things that evolution is supposed to have done. Kind of like a freak of nature, savey? Of course, the whole idea of pond scum, lightning bolts, and destructive mutations randomly creating any form of life is impossible. But believe it or not, the situation gets worse than that. When it gets worse, it becomes a freak of evolution.

Convergent Evolution
Our first freak began way back when scientists found the need to establish an evolutionary family tree. To do this, they tried to fit every known species back to back in a chart showing their gradual evolution. Of course, the absence of smooth transitions between different types of animals, was what first inspired the phrase, “missing link”, by Darwin’s own admission, missing links are an incredible setback to the entire hypothesis of evolution. Another huge setback, Convergent evolution, has also plagued evolutionary scientists. Convergent evolution is when a similar trait evolves multiple times, in totally separate types of animals. It’s like a tornado causing the random assembly of two 747 jumbo jets instead of one! Whereas evolution is impossible, convergent evolution is double, triple, or even quadruple impossible.

Flight
By far my favorite case of convergent evolution is flight. Think about it, there are actually FOUR separate phylums of animals that have the ability to fly. Birds, Insects, Bats (mammals), and extinct flying reptiles. To an evolutionist, this means that the engineering miracle of flight, (taking humans hundreds of years to develop), randomly happened upon four different creatures, and all of them survived thousands of years of transitional life, before finally gaining all the necessary equipment, and taking to the skies.

How hard is Flight?
As I said above, the ancestors of flying creatures would have had to survive thousands of years while developing flight. For birds, Mammals, and reptiles, I imagine this was especially hard. What happens, for instance, when an eagle loses its ability to fly? It becomes easy prey for hungry predators. Natural selection is a real thing, but in this, and many other cases, it would hinder evolution, not drive it forward. Also, think how hard it was for human engineers to develop flight. As my science book would say “The processes involved are far beyond the scope of this coarse”, there is no way I could explain every design that humans have copied from flying animals. However, here are a few examples.

First, as any fifth grader knows, the shape bird’s wing’s created an aria of high and low pressure, which is what enables them to fly. The Write brother’s success, (as the success of every plane since) was all due to copying this design.

Also, as flight developed, planes got faster and faster, and began experiencing turbulence. Planes would literally shake to pieces during take-offs and landings. Once again, flight engineers turned to the bird. They discovered a little feather that was extended in front of the wing each time the bird took off or landed. Not knowing what this feather did, they closely copied the design and turbulence problems were solved. Years later, with the aid of a super computer, scientists found that the physics behind this simple feather were, once again, “Beyond the scope of this coarse”.

Our final example once again comes from the bird. As airplanes advanced, the material needed to build a plane became stronger and stronger. But, as the material got stronger, the plane got heavier. There was a need for a light material that was still extremely strong. Hollow tubes were used, but they were often not strong enough. So, engineers imitated bird bones, creating tubes with many air pockets, each separated by thin sheets of metal. This structure proved many times stronger, and only slightly heavier.

Common Creator
There are many other examples of convergent evolution that I hope to write about. Each case drives home the fact that evolution is not the explanation for this universe. Convergent evolution is more than just a “freak thing”, or a lucky accident. Convergent evolution screams a testimony to our common creator, not common ancestor.