For our next topic we cross the Atlantic. There is a huge range of butterflies in the world. Every butterfly starts off as an egg, which hatches into a caterpillar. After a while this turns into a chrysalis, which in turn hatches out into a flying insect that feeds on the nectar of flowers, and even…
The Monarch Butterfly Read More »
IN the last chapter, we considered the probability argument against evolution—the incredibly small chance that two complex systems, each having three component parts, and both essential to the survival of the species, could develop independently and be ready for use at the same time.
This is so…
Desert Island Space Capsule Read More »
THERE are few more pleasant places than woodland in the spring. The fresh green fingers of new leaves, the sweet creamy smell of blossom, and the birds unleashed from the silence of winter make us feel glad to be alive. Yet the same scene in autumn is also full of colour and warmth—golden-red leav…
Witness of the Trees Read More »
THE defence mechanisms of the human body are so challenging to the concept of evolution that we must spend a little more time considering the implications. We saw in the last chapter that the fail-safe mechanism that prevents blood from clotting inside the body could not have developed gradually ove…
Bones of an Argument Read More »
HAVE you ever cut your finger? Of course you have. Everybody does, many times in a lifetime. Yet you have survived these accidents or you would not be reading these words. Have you ever considered what would have happened if your cut finger had not stopped bleeding? Inevitably, you would have died. …
As we crack open our boiled egg on Sunday morning we may forget that the egg was meant, in the first place, to be the home of a baby chicken. Inside that smooth shell was a complete food supply and life-support system. In three weeks it would take an embryo all the way from its first living cell, …
The Story of the Egg Read More »
We are ending this brief review of some of the wonders in the world around us with an appeal. We have looked at a range of topics from the plant and animal world, each of which points to intelligence rather than natural selection as the explanation of its existence. There is an endless supply of sim…
Our next example is a plant. The Cuckoo Pint belongs to the Arum family. It is a common resident of damp English hedge bottoms. Its arrow shaped leaves, covered with dark blotches, emerge above the soil in the spring. Next to follow is a rounded striped green sheath, from the centre of which project…
Whales are the most majestic of all living reatures. Their power and sheer size, the distances they can travel, and their ability to communicate with each other over hundreds of miles, fill us with awe. But the most impressive of all is the Sperm Whale. The male Sperm Whale is the largest hunter eve…
Our first case is a scary one. The Black Mamba is a venomous snake found in Africa. It can grow up to 4 metres long. It is actually green in colour, but has a black lining to its mouth. The Mamba is quick to defend itself, and will rear up high and lash out with its poisonous fangs at anyone who com…
