1	Icons of Evolution Dr. Heinz Lycklama heinz@osta.com www.osta.com
2	Origins – Evolution or Creation? “No educated person any longer questions the validity of the so-called theory of evolution, which we now know to be a simple fact.” Ernst Mayr, Scientific American, July 2000. “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” (Neo-Darwinist) Theodosius Dobzhansky, 1973. Let’s look at the scientific evidence …
3	Origins - Evolution or Creation? “Science is the search for truth” Hypothesis, theory, model, law, or fact? Fact – proven to be true Law – no known exception Theory – testable, falsifiable, based on empirical findings Hypothesis – provisionally explains some fact Model – simplified representation of reality Which is Evolution? Creation? A model – let’s see why …
4	“Theory” of Evolution Theory: “A time-tested concept that makes useful dependable predictions about the natural world.” It must therefore: Make accurate predictions Not have any known contradictions Be repeatable Evolution: Is based on random mutations – cannot make dependable predictions Has many known contradictions Happened in the past – not repeatable
5	The Limits of Science “Ideas like absolute correctness, absolute accuracy, final truth, etc. are illusions which have no place in any science.” Max Born, Nobel Laureate (1882-1970) “A new scientific truth is usually not propagated in such a way that opponents become convinced and discard their previous views. No, the adversaries eventually die off, and the upcoming generation is familiarized anew with the truth.” Max Planck, Nobel Laureate (1858-1947)
6	Biological Evolution The “theory” that all living things are modified descendants of a common ancestor that lived in the distant past: We are descendants of ape-like ancestors Apes are descendants of more primitive animals Living things share common ancestors Evolutionary changes (mutations, natural selection) give rise to new species Called “Descent with modification” by Darwin Evolution requires time, and lots of it!
7	Where is the Evidence? Life from non-life? Transitional fossils? Geological column? New species appearing? Old species dying off? Beneficial mutations? Increasing complexity in living organisms?
8	Evolution Under Attack Creation Science Institute for Creation Research (ICR) Answers In Genesis (AIG) Intelligent Design Movement Phillip E. Johnson, Darwin on Trial Michael Behe, Darwin’s Black Box William Dembski, The Design Inference Jonathan Wells, Icons of Evolution
9	Icons of Evolution “The iconography of persuasion strikes even closer than words to the core of our being. Every demagogue, every humorist, every advertising executive, has known and exploited the evocative power of a well-chosen picture … But many of our pictures are incarnations of concepts masquerading as neutral descriptions of nature. These are the most potent sources of conformity, since ideas passing as descriptions lead us to equate the tentative with the unambiguously factual.” Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life (New York: W. W. Norton, 1989, p. 28)
10	Icons of Evolution Book Review “If you think that evolutionary theory is a threat to civilization, you will enjoy this book in its entirety. If you are simply interested in the guilty pleasure of seeing scientists behaving badly, there is a lot here for you, too. The examples are well drawn and documented. If Wells made a technical error, I missed it.” “I think he is to be commended for his care and, on balance, the book provides an interesting insight into how science actually works and why it sometimes fails.”
11	Comments by Phillip Johnson
12	Johnson Comments (cont’d)
13	Ten Icons of Evolution The Miller-Urey Experiment Darwin’s Tree of Life Homology in Vertebrate Limbs Haeckel’s Embryos Archaeopteryx – The Missing Link Peppered Moths Darwin’s Finches Four-Winged Fruit Flies Fossil Horses and Directed Evolution From Ape to Human: The Ultimate Icon!
14	#1 - Miller-Urey Experiment In the 1920’s the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis surmised that chemicals produced in the atmosphere dissolved in the primordial seas to form a “hot dilute soup”, from which the first living cells emerged. The results: Captured imagination of many scientists Untested hypothesis until the Miller-Urey experiment in 1953 Found its way into high school and college biology textbooks
15	Miller-Urey Equipment The equipment consisted of A vacuum line High-voltage spark electrodes Condenser with circulating cold water Trap to prevent backflow Flask for boiling water and collecting reaction products Sealed tube, broken later to remove reaction products for analysis
16	Some Basic Terminology Atoms - The basic unit of matter Molecules - Specific arrangement of atoms (H₂O) Amino Acids - Specific arrangement of molecules Proteins - Specific arrangement of amino acids
17	Experimental Results The Miller-Urey device produced (either in this experiment or subsequent variations) many of the basic building blocks of: Proteins (amino acids) Nucleic acids (ribose, purines and pyrimidines) Polysaccharides (sugars) Fats (fatty acids and glycerol) The building blocks were found, not the actual macromolecules Along with these building blocks, there were many other molecules not found in organisms
18	Experiment Does Not Prove Life Evolved From Non-Life Miller-Urey experiment assumed an early earth atmosphere consisting of ammonia, water, hydrogen and methane Did the primitive atmosphere really lack oxygen? Oxygen must have been there because lighter gases would escape into the atmosphere. Chemical evolution would have been inhibited by oxygen Geologists determined, by examining rocks “dated” to be 3.7 billion years old, that earth had an oxygenic atmosphere Origin-of-life scientists ignored the evidence for oxygen in the early earth atmosphere. Oxygen is an “oxidizing” agent and would inhibit chemical evolution The Miller-Urey experiment assumed the wrong gas mixture Experiment produced the wrong amino acids – right-handed rather than left-handed
19	The Miller-Urey Experiment Debunked “The likelihood of life having occurred through a chemical accident is, for all intents and purposes, zero.” Robert Gange, Ph.D., Origins and Destiny, 1986, p. 77. “Since Miller’s beguiling picture of a pond full of dissolved amino acids under a reducing atmosphere has been discredited, a new beguiling picture has come to take its place. The new picture has life originating in a hot, deep, dark little hole on the ocean floor.” Freeman Dyson, Origins of Life, 1999, pp. 25-26. (Dyson is a Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and a member of NAS.)
20	Conclusion #1 Textbooks include a picture of Miller-Urey apparatus with caption claiming or implying that the experiment simulated conditions on the early earth No mention of experiment’s flaws Leaves student with impression that it demonstrates how life’s building blocks formed on the early earth.
21	#2 - Darwin’s Tree of Life
22	The Evolution of Life All species evolved over billions of years from a common ancestor
23	A Quote From Darwin “Why is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graduated organic chain; and this is the most obvious and serious objection which can be urged against the theory.” Charles Darwin, Origin of Species, 6^th Ed., 1872, p. 413.
24	The Coelacanth Extinct for 70 million years 1938 living coelacanths were found It is still 100% fish
25	What Does The Evidence Say? “There is no question that such gaps exist. A big gap appears at the beginning of the Cambrian explosion, over 500 million years ago, when great numbers of new species suddenly appeared in the fossil record.” David Berlinski (evolutionist), A Tour of the Calculus, 1995 “However, we have virtually no evidence in the fossil record or elsewhere for any of the changes proposed during this ‘immensity of time’; but the public hears nothing of this problem.” Aerial Roth (Ph.D. Zoology), Origins, p. 189.
26	Darwin’s Tree of Life Debunked Living things are all very different The fossil record shows that “phylum-level” differences appear at the lowest levels, i.e. in the Cambrian period. This has been referred to as “the Cambrian explosion.”
27	The Argument Continues In an attempt to preserve Darwin’s theory, paleontologists have argued: The apparent absence of Precambrian ancestors is due to the fragmentary fossil record Any Precambrian ancestors would not have fossilized because they were too small or because they were soft-bodied Molecular comparisons among living organisms point to a hypothetical common ancestor hundreds of millions of years before the Cambrian The fossil record and the molecular evidence have uprooted Darwin’s “Tree of Life.”
28	Quote From Colin Patterson “I fully agree with your comments on the lack of direct illustration of evolutionary transitions in my book. If I knew of any, fossil or living, I would certainly have included them.... I will lay it on the line—there is not one such fossil for which one could make a watertight argument.” Colin Patterson, the senior paleontologist at the British Museum of Natural History in London and author of the museum’s general text on evolution, in a letter dated April 10, 1979.
29	Summary of Fossil Record “Given the fact of evolution, one would expect the fossils to document a gradual steady change from ancestral forms to the descendants. But this is not what the paleontologists finds. Instead, he or she finds gaps in just about every phyletic series.” Ernst Mayr (Professor Emeritus in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, Hailed as the Darwin of the 20^th century), What Evolution Is, 2001, p. 14.
30	#3 - Homology in Vertebrate Limbs Forelimbs of: Bat (flying) Porpoise (swimming) Horse (running) Human (grasping) … showing bones considered to be homologous (similar structure)
31	Homology Discussion Creationists regard organisms as constructed on a common plan (i.e. designed for similar purpose) Darwin explained homology on the basis of the “theory of descent with slow and slight modifications” The evolutionist’s explanation attributes homologous features to similar genes inherited from a common ancestor Darwin’s followers later redefined homology to mean “similarity due to common ancestry” This leads to circular reasoning Some similar structures are not acquired through common ancestry – e.g. octopus eye and human eye
32	Homology Theory Debunked The development of the digits proceeds from posterior to anterior direction in frogs, but from head to tail in salamanders. The neo-Darwinian explanation of developmental genetics presupposes that homologous structures in two different organisms are produced by similar genes, and that homologous structures are not produced by different genes – this is now known NOT to be the case. It has also been discovered that non-homologous structures commonly arise from identical genes.
33	#4 - Haeckel’s Embryos The embryos shown are (left to right) fish, salamander, tortoise, chick, hog, calf, rabbit and human – representing 5 of the 7 vertebrate classes. Haeckel omitted two classes of vertebrate (jawless and cartilaginous fishes) entirely, and half of the embryos are mammals - thus using a biased sample
34	Darwin’s Reliance on Haeckel Darwin’s statements in “Origin of Species” depended on Haeckel’s work: “The embryos of the most distinct species belonging to the same class are closely similar, but becomes, when fully developed, widely dissimilar.” “With many animals the embryonic or larval stages show us, more or less completely, the condition of the progenitor of the whole group in its adult state.” Darwin considered these similarities in early embryos “by far the strongest single class of facts in favor of” his theory.
35	Haeckel’s Fraud The dissimilarity of early embryos has been well-known for more than a century. Haeckel’s drawings are misleading in three ways: They include only those classes and orders that come closest to fitting Haeckel’s theory They distort the embryos they purport to show They entirely omit earlier stages in which vertebrate embryos look very different
36	Haeckel vs. Reality
37	Recent Biology Textbook
38	Molecular Biology Booklet Molecular Biology of the Cell Booklet: “Early developmental stages of animals whose adult forms appear radically different are often surprisingly similar.” Neo-Darwinian mechanisms explain why “embryos of different species so often resemble each other in their early stages and as they develop, seem sometimes to replay the steps of evolution.” The deception continues … Time for a dose of “critical thinking”
39	#5 - Archaeopteryx: The Missing Link In 1861 Hermann von Meyer described a fossil that appeared to be intermediate between reptiles and birds, calling it Archaeopteryx (“ancient wing”). The fossil had wings and feathers, but it also had teeth, a long lizard-like tail, and claws on the wings. A more complete specimen (“Berlin specimen”) was found in 1877. This is the “missing link” that confirmed the theory of evolution for many people
40	Reptile -> Bird ? Development of feathers Reform of respiratory system Reform of skeletal system – hollow bones Reform of digestive system Reform of nervous system Construction of bills & beaks Mastery of nest building Acquisition of flight Development of sound producing organ
41	What Is/Was Archaeopteryx? Paleontologists agree that Archaeopteryx is not the ancestor of modern birds Its own ancestors are the subject of one of the most heated controversies in modern science It is not only regarded as the world’s most beautiful fossil, but has become a powerful icon of the evolutionary process itself. In 1982, Ernst Mayr, a Harvard neo-Darwinist, called Archaeopteryx “the almost perfect link between reptiles and birds.” However, too many structural differences were identified between Archaeopteryx and modern birds for modern birds to be descendants of the Archaeopteryx.
42	Archaeopteryx Was a Bird! “Archaeopteryx is not ancestral of any group of modern birds.” Larry Martin, Univ. of Kansas paleontologist, 1985 Most paleontologists now believe that it is not an ancestor of the modern bird, but a bird itself! Archaeopteryx has been abandoned and the search for missing links continues. Archaeoraptor from China turned out to be a fabrication! – published by Nat. Geographic in 1999. Bambiraptor unveiled at Florida conference in 2000. Next ???
43	#6 - Peppered Moths Most peppered moths were light-colored in the early part of the 19^th century Moths became predominantly “melanic” or dark-colored near heavily polluted cities during the industrial revolution in Britain
44	Kettlewell’s Experiments In the early 1950’s Bernard Kettlewell performed some experiments that suggested that predatory birds ate light-colored moths when they became more visible on pollution-darkened tree trunks It appeared that natural selection played a role in the survival of the dark-colored variety of moths Most biology textbooks illustrate this example of “natural selection” with photographs showing two varieties of peppered moth resting on light- and dark-colored tree trunks What the textbooks do NOT tell you is that these photographs have been staged since peppered moths in the wild do not rest on tree trunks
45	Problems With the Evidence The percentage of melanics predicted by the theory did not materialize in the different areas of England; e.g. in some areas melanism increased after the introduction of pollution control The results of Kettlewell’s experiments were not as dependent on the presence of lichens as he had thought Later determined that tree trunks are not the natural resting places of peppered moths. Moths normally rest underneath or on the side of narrow branches Moths were manually placed in desired positions for the experiments, i.e. the photographs were staged This cast serious doubt on the validity of Kettlewell’s experiments
46	Evidence for Natural Selection? “The evidence Darwin lacked, Kettlewell lacked as well.” Sermonti and Catastini, Italian biologists, mid-1980’s “the story of industrial melanism must be shelved …as a paradigm of new-Darwinian evolution.” Sibatani, Japanese biologist Darwin’s missing evidence for natural selection is still missing!
47	#7 - Darwin’s Finches Darwin studied 13 species of finches in the Galapagos Islands while on a voyage in 1835 The finches differ mainly in the size and shape of their beaks The various species were concluded to be the result of natural selection since the beaks of the finches are adapted to the different foods they eat
48	Undeserved Credit Many biology textbooks give Darwin undeserved credit for the use of the finches as an example of natural selection in the theory of evolution. The facts are: The finches are not discussed in Darwin’s diary, except for one passing reference The finches are never mentioned in Darwin’s book “The Origin of Species” The natural selection observed in the 1970’s reversed direction soon after, resulting in no net evolutionary change Several finch species appear to be merging through hybridization
49	An Icon of Evolution! “Darwin was increasingly given credit after 1947 for finches he never saw and for observations and insights about them he never made.” Sulloway “Darwin attributed the differences in bill size and feeding habits among these finches to evolution that occurred after their ancestors migrated to the Galapagos Islands.” Biology: Visualizing Life (1998), George Johnson
50	Grant’s Experiments in 1970’s Grant’s observations: Drought reduced the availability of seeds, resulting in a 15% reduction of the one island’s medium ground finch population Survivors tended to have slightly larger bodies and beaks Natural selection favored those birds capable of cracking the tough large seeds that remained The average beak depth increased about 5%
51	Peter Grant’s Conclusions Peter Grant concluded: Natural selection can produce changes in beaks; this could also explain the origin of species among Darwin’s finches It would require 20 such selection events to transform one species into another; with one drought each 10 years, this would take only 200 years BUT: Chromosome studies show no differences among the finches No natural selection in the wild has been observed Finches are still finches today!
52	Grant’s Later Experiments When the rains returned: Increase in finch population; and the average beak size returned back to its previous size Oscillating selection cannot produce any net change in Darwin’s finches Several species of finches appear to be merging into one The finches seem to be oscillating between diverging and merging Perhaps there aren’t that many different species after all!
53	Exaggerating the Evidence National Academy of Sciences booklet: Describes Darwin’s finches as “a particularly compelling example” of the origin of species. Explains how the Grants showed “that a single year of drought on the islands can drive evolutionary changes in the finches,” and that “if droughts occur about once every 10 years on the islands, a new species of finch might arise in only about 200 years.”
54	#8 - Four-Winged Fruit Flies “Small-scale evolution within a species (such as we see in domestic breeding) makes use of variations already present in a population, but large-scale evolution (such as Darwin envisioned) is impossible unless new variations arise from time to time.”, Jonathan Wells, Icons of Evolution, p. 177 Genes consisting of DNA are the carriers of hereditary information (directs development) New variations originate as mutations Most mutations are harmful
55	More on Mutations Mutations can have biochemical effects that render bacteria resistant to antibiotics or insects resistant to insecticides, for example Biochemical mutations cannot explain the large-scale changes in organisms Unless a mutation affects morphology (the shape of an organism) it cannot provide raw materials for morphological evolution Morphological mutations have been extensively studied in the fruit fly, classified as Drospophila melanogaster. Some mutations cause the two-winged fruit fly to develop a second pair of wings
56	Experimental Results Four-winged fruit flies do not occur spontaneously – they must be bred in the laboratory from three artificially maintained mutant strains The extra wings lack flight muscles They testify to the skill of geneticists They help us understand the role of genes in development
57	Experimental Conclusions They provide no evidence that DNA mutations supply the raw materials for morphological evolution No useful organism has been produced, and the organism cannot reproduce The four-winged fruit fly does not provide the missing evidence for evolution: Genetic mutations are not the raw materials for large-scale evolution A fruit fly is still a fruit fly!
58	Comments by Evolutionists Major mutations such as bithorax “are such evident freaks that these monsters can be designated only as ‘hopeless.’ They are so utterly unbalanced that they would not have the slightest chance of escaping elimination” through natural selection. Harvard Biologist Ernst Mayr, 1963. “geneticists have found that the number of wings in flies can be changed through mutations in a single gene.” National Academy of Sciences Booklet, 1998.
59	#9 - Fossil Horses & Directed Evolution Evolutionists claim that the modern single-toed horse, Equus, can be traced to the small four-toed Hyracotherium, sometimes called Eohippus, which is supposed to have lived about 50M years ago Othniel C. Marsh invented this entire series back in the 1870s. He gathered animals from all over the world and arranged them in the order he thought they would have evolved, though the animals are not found in that order
60	Basis of Theory The theory of the evolution of the horse has been based on some of the following assumptions: Four-toed -> three-toed -> two-toed -> one-toed (today) Number of ribs varies between 15 and 19 Similarities in the “horse” skulls Similarities in leg bones
61	Horse “Evolution” The traditional depiction of the evolution of horses worked out by O. C. Marsh is highly questionable “The most famous of all equid [horse] trends, ‘gradual reduction of the side toes,’ is flatly fictitious.” Simpson G. G. 1953. The Major Features of Evolution. New York and London: Columbia University Press, p 263
62	Another Quote On Horse Theory “The record of evolution is still surprisingly jerky and, ironically, we have even fewer examples of evolutionary transition than we had in Darwin’s time. By this I mean that some of the classic cases of Darwinian change in the fossil record, such as the evolution of the horse in North America have had to be discarded or modified as a result of more detailed information--what appeared to be a nice simple progression when relatively few data were available now appears to be much more complex and much less gradualistic.” Raup, D. M. Conflicts between Darwin and Paleontology. Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin 50:22-29
63	More Evidence The entire horse evolution series was disproved years ago. No knowledgeable scientist would support the horse evolution as depicted in textbooks today. Some of the evidence against the proposed theory includes: Eohippus was referred to as Hyracotherium by its discoverer because of its resemblance to the genus Hyrax, which was not a horse The number of lumbar vertebrae changes from six to eight and then back to six in the “horse series.” Fossils of three-toed and one-toed species are preserved in the same rock formation in Nebraska, showing that they lived at the same time Modern horses vary in size from 17 inches high (Fallabella in Argentina) to the 7 foot high Clydesdale There is no consensus on horse ancestry among paleontologists
64	Horses Today Living horses come in a wide range of sizes: English Shire: over 6 ½ feet, Ponies: under 5 feet, Fallabella: under 2 feet. Some horses today have 3 toes. Many different varieties of horses exist today that resemble horse fossils.
65	#10 - From Ape to Human: The Ultimate Icon!
66	Darwin’s Human Evolution Theory The drawing was developed before there was any so-called evidence It has been reproduced in most biology textbooks and museum exhibits Numerous fossils were discovered that “appeared” to be the transitional links in the evolutionary chain leading to today’s human beings It has been shown that many interpretations of the fossil evidence for human evolution were influenced by personal beliefs and prejudices
67	“Hominid” Fossils Neanderthal Man – accepted as homo sapiens Java Man – artificial construct Piltdown Man – proven to be a hoax Nebraska Man – an extinct pig Ramapithecus – an orangutan Lucy – make-believe creature
68	Human “Evolution” - Conclusions Palaeontologists have a tendency to reconstruct fossils to make what they want out of it A single set of fossil bones can be reconstructed in many different ways, based on the assumptions made by the palaeontologist and the artist Some scientists have correctly stated that “to take a line of fossils and claim that they represent a lineage is not a scientific hypothesis that can be tested, but an assertion that carries the same validity as a bedtime story – amusing, perhaps even instructive, but not scientific.” Jonathan Wells, Icons of Evolution, page 221
69	What Do Biology Textbooks Have to Say About These Icons? A – treats as a theory B – describes issue clearly C – discusses possible problems D – assumes true, even a “fact” F – completely misleading
70	Why Do Textbooks Still … Carry these icons? Evolutionists will not acknowledge a supernatural power Evolutionists do not have an alternative “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evidence!” Jonathan Wells, 2001. “Scientists are questioning the validity of the so-called theory of evolution, which we now know to be unsupported by the evidence!”
71	Jonathan Wells’ New Book
72
73	Creation Organizations ICR – Institute for Creation Research www.icr.org Books by Henry Morris (founder), e.g. The Genesis Flood The Genesis Record The Modern Creation Trilogy Acts and Facts articles on Creation Answers in Genesis www.answersingenesis.org Founded by Ken Ham Books, seminars, articles on Creation
74	Creation Organizations - 2 Creation Evidence Museum www.creationevidence.org Dinosaurs and human tracks Creation Moments www.creationmoments.com Radio spots Creation Research Society www.creationresearch.org Publication of peer-reviewed creation articles
75	Creation Organizations - 3 Center For Scientific Creation www.creationscience.com “In The Beginning” Book by Walt Brown, Ph.D. Creation Science Evangelism www.drdino.com Videos, seminars Discovery Institute www.discovery.org Intelligent Design “Think Tank”
76	Important Books The Genesis Record, Dr. Henry Morris The Genesis Flood, Dr. John Whitcomb & Dr. Henry Morris The Collapse of Evolution, Scott Huse The Lie: Evolution, Ken Ham Refuting Evolution, Dr. Jonathon Sarfati Evolution: The Fossils Still Say No!, Dr. Duane Gish Scientific Creationism, Dr. Henry Morris Starlight and Time, Dr. Russell Humphreys Dinosaurs by Design, Dr. Duane Gish
77	Important Books - 2 The Young Earth, Dr. John Morris Science and the Bible, Dr. Henry Morris Tornado in a Junkyard, James Perloff In The Beginning, Dr. Walt Brown Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, Michael Denton Darwin on Trial, Dr. Phillip Johnson Darwin’s Black Box, Dr. Michael Behe Design Inference, Dr. William Dembski