Claim CB302:
The ear is too complex to have evolved.
Source:
Brown, Walt. 1995. In the Beginning: Compelling evidence for creation
and the Flood. Phoenix, AZ: Center for Scientific Creation, p. 7.
Response:
- Not much complexity is needed for a functional ear. All that is
necessary is a nerve connected to something that can vibrate. Insects
have evolved "ears" on at least eleven different parts of their bodies,
from antennae to legs (Hoy and Robert 1996). Even humans detect very
low frequencies via tactile sensation, not through their ears.
- The transition from reptile to mammal shows some
of the
intermediate stages in human hearing. Jaw bones, which likely helped
the hearing of therapsid reptiles, became co-opted exclusively for
hearing in the middle ear.
- This is an example of the argument from
incredulity. That one
does not know how something happened does not mean it cannot have
happened.
References:
- Hoy, R. R. and D. Robert. 1996. Tympanal hearing in insects. Annual
Review of Entomology 41: 433-450.
created 2003-6-13
