1. The Information Gene, Evolution Series Part 1 Essay

This is the first of three installments in my Evolution Series. What is evolution? What part does information play in the evolutionary idea? Is evolution a reasonable worldview?

 

The Information Gene

 

Evolution Series, Part 1

Essay by Carrie Ott

 

            This essay is the first in what will be a three-part series about the controversial topic concerning, that’s right, evolution. As the title states, I’ll spend my time today talking about something called the “information gene” – how the plausibility of evolution hinges on information only. Don’t get what I’m saying? Well, let me break it down for you.

            The best way to start in any investigation is to understand what we’re dealing with. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines evolution in many ways; for now, let’s just look at the main definition we’re concerned with. The definition explains evolution as, “a theory that the various types of animals and plants have their origin in other preexisting types and that the distinguishable differences are due to modifications in successive generations.” All that mumbo-jumbo tells us that animals or plants we see today came from their ancestors that existed a long time ago, only with some new changes attached. So, the evolution that we speak of right now is what you’ve all heard of before, I’m sure – monkey to man. Is this really possible? Scientifically and Biblically, no.

            Once upon a time, a man named Charles Darwin wrote a book. The full title of this book is “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life.” What a doozie of a title! But what was he actually saying by that title; what does it mean? All of that can be summed up in a few short words – the fittest survive. Or, for those of you who have ever watched the Japanese show Rurouni Kenshin, Sojiro puts it nicely – if you’re strong you live, and if you’re weak…you die. Our man Mr. Darwin insisted that only those who deserved to live had the right and ability to do so.

Now, there’s another little tidbit I’d like to grab out of Darwin’s title. Do you see that little part stuck in there, “Favored Races?” Did you know that the word race is never once found in the Bible? There is no such thing as race! We use the word race to mean ethnicity today, but the race that Darwin speaks of is that some humans are higher-class (more sophisticated, intelligent, etc) than others, simply by nature and not by effort. However, I digress. We’ll cover the Biblical part of this argument in a later installment.

            Now that I’ve managed to numb your brain with facts, let’s get into the real “is it possible” nitty-gritty. It can be confusing, so pay attention! Can you tell me what the only factor is that’s needed for a fish to grow legs? That’s right, it’s information, the topic of this essay! (You knew I’d get there eventually, right?) Information is all that’s ever needed to do something new. Okay, you think, so what’s the problem? The problem is that we don’t just need information, we need new information. Where does this new information come from? Well, that’s just the problem.

            Imagine this. I give you a jar full of absolutely nothing, not even air (it’s a vacuum inside that jar). There’s no way to open the jar, but I say, “Just wait, by tomorrow there’ll be air in that jar.” How? You think. That’s exactly the point. Something can’t come from nothing! Use that same line of thought, and you’ll realize that information can’t come from no information. It just doesn’t make sense. So if the information for a fish to grow legs is not there (because they surely don’t have legs), then where’s it going to come from? Simply, it’s not coming from anywhere, because information to produce legs can’t come from a stash of no information, no matter how hard you try. Making sense? I hope so.

            Now, with all that in mind, let me point out something that makes a whole lot more sense. Imagine if you had an infinite amount of information. Well now, wouldn’t it make sense that information came from there? Indeed it would. Isn’t God the ultimate, unlimited information source? So, information from no information = impossible; information from unlimited unformation = ah, the sensible solution. God had all the information when he created all the animals and plants like we see today.

            Ah, but some of you are still unconvinced. One question I can hear you shouting – “What about all those bugs? We used to kill them with pesticide, but now they’re immune to it! Haven’t they evolved into better bugs?” A fair question. Before I answer it, let me reveal the second definition I want to use from the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Evolution is also defined as “a process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more complex, or better state.” That’s exactly what you’ve just asked about, is it not? I think, then, that it would hurt your view to reveal that insects are now immune to pesticides due to a loss of information! That doesn’t seem plausible, I know, but it’s scientifically true for sure! Friends, all living things are losing information, not gaining it. We’ve already determined that gaining new genetic information is actually an impossibility. We are falling far in the opposite direction of Darwin’s view on

evolution – that things just get better and better, changing and changing until the world is at the peak of possible existence. Still following?

            But let’s take a break. I feel like I’ve said the word information far too much. Instead, let’s take a look at some monkeys. Aye-ayes, to be precise. These monkeys are peculiar (yet cute) creations, I’d say. They have one very very long middle finger, which they use in a way similar to a woodpecker, digging bugs out of a hole in a tree. In fact, that finger can be up to three times as long as the others. Now, let’s pretend I believe in evolution – I’ll go back millions of years and look ahead. I see this little monkey, but all his fingers are the same length. Uh-oh, he can’t get the bugs out of the trees! So, the evolutionist would say that he evolves a longer finger in order to feed himself. Now, my question in response to that is, “How did he live long enough to evolve a new finger if he couldn’t feed himself? It takes millions of years for that finger to form, according to you.” So, what’s the solution to this predicament? Could it be that God created the aye-aye with a long finger from the beginning? Hmm…take some time and think it over. You may surprise yourself.

            In one of my final points, I’d just like to ask, “Why aren’t creatures still evolving?” Species are becoming endangered and extinct quite rapidly – shouldn’t they be able to change to fit the circumstances, according to evolution? I understand that the answer to that question would be that they don’t have enough time to evolve. Indeed. But, good evolutionist, they’re losing information! Shouldn’t they at least be starting to get something together, if they were actually able to evolve? Friends, it’s just that simple – every living thing is losing information. This world is deteriorating, not getting better. The Bible says that the earth “groans in the pains of childbirth.” Did evolution allow for that?

            Let me recap my main point of this article. The plausibility of evolution hinges on information only. Does that make more sense now? What I’m saying is that evolution is only possible when new information becomes available; we’ve deemed that impossible, therefore, so is evolution. That’s my point. I know, for many it was a confusing road leading to here (lots of information to mull over). However, I hope that you’ll consider everything that’s been said without whatever already-existing bias might be in your way. I know, I’ve probably made a few people angry, but hey, I can deal with that. Anyway, stick around for the second and third installments of this series (And you think, She has MORE to say?). Next time, we deal with Micro vs. Macro evolution. It’s more interesting than it sounds. Really.

 

As always, I haven’t copied this information. These are my own personal beliefs. I have, however, learned a lot from my History/Bible teacher Mr. Abbey. Thanks to him for teaching me so much!

 Please feel free to contact me about anything, from Christianity to dog slobber. I’ll get back to ya!

Author's Note

I know, this essay is a bit dense and requires quite a bit of thinking to follow along. I tried to make it as interesting as I could, though it was a bit difficult given all the raw facts.

Reviews

[writer-scott]

Great read, I have found that I have final truly learn some thing new. It about you lossing info part of the essay. To help your point you can look at anaimal breading, Breaders pick the aniamals that have the traits they want over unwant traits and bread them. With this you as the breader are lossing the info on the unwanted trait which lets the wanted trait be more common.

thanks for the great and thoughtful read
Scott Pickett
P.S. sorry if my spelling is bad.