Some people always make mountains out of molehills. Everything is far more complicated than it must be. They do this to delay and block anything they don’t want.
But in another sense, mountains are indeed more complex than they seem. They are made of molecules, which are, in turn, made of atoms. When we see a big block of rock, it is easy to think that it was simple to build. When you understand the amazing complexity of its components, its simple existence is startling.
The simplest material in a waterfall is water, and a water molecule is amazingly dynamic. We can see that it is in motion and are not surprised that it is made of dynamic components. It is astonishing to consider that the rock-solid material in the mountain consists of equally dynamic atoms and molecules. Everything in and around us follows the same rules. Our solid bones and our sweat are both made of molecules containing rotating atoms.
Those who insist on using evolution to explain everything must start with the absence of living things on Earth. Mountains and water, but no life forms. A Greek named Parmenides described the problem with this argument centuries ago. Whether you are considering the beginning of the universe or the development of life on Earth,
“Nothing comes from nothing” (Latin: ex nihilo nihil fit) is a philosophical concept first argued by Parmenides and intertwined with ancient Greek cosmology. This concept suggests that there is no transition from a non-existent world to an existent one, as creation cannot originate from nothingness.
I spent my career in the computer industry studying how they work, so I could develop tools to manage tasks and make life easier for people to use them. Everything in computers, and now cell phones, is the result of sophisticated development, cooperation, and standardization. There had to be agreement on the bit pattern for the letter “A” before it could be sent out on one company’s computer and read in by someone else.
I participated in stage plays as a child and saw what was needed to put on a play. That was also more complicated than it looks.
I go through all that to say that nothing is easy to produce or happens accidentally. Even if we ignore that everything consists of atoms and molecules, there is still significant effort, planning, and coordination required to produce even the simplest things.
I get to brag here about a brand-new granddaughter. There’s the old spiritual that says, “Every time I hear a newborn baby cry, I believe.” We tracked the miracle of a baby’s development. When my daughter first told us the news, she was talking about a sonogram picture of a creature the size of a peanut. That was our name for the child for a while. We asked, “How’s Peanut doing?” Now she has all the pieces she needs.
Many years ago, I studied how a computer went from empty and doing nothing to fully capable and operational. That was exciting. It is trivial compared to what is needed to go from one cell to an infant ready for the world.
To take one part of it, look at the diagram of the spine.
Each vertebra has a bone, a cushioning disc, and space for nerves to pass through, connecting the brain to parts of the body. The structure grows and changes through our lives. It also differs between a chimpanzee and a giraffe.
This complex system is amazing, but it supports connections to other things that are even more amazing. It allows communication between the brain and your eyes, heart, lungs, arms, digestive system, legs, and even your little toe. All those systems have their own complexities, and the dialogue between each of them and the brain is a system that had to be developed.
There are times when we are working on a technical problem, and it seems to solve itself. When that happens, we joke that sometimes “dumb luck beats pure skill.” But when you start to understand the development of a human being from a single cell, the sophisticated systems and the interactions of those systems, and the fact that the creatures and the environment fit together, it isn’t “dumb luck.”
Complex systems like IBM’s System 360, Microsoft Windows, Boeing aircraft, grocery store chains, people, animals, and universes don’t just happen. They are the result of development, planning, and continuous hard work.
Those who don’t understand it, or don’t want to, will refuse to credit the designers and builders who created what benefits them, but that doesn’t change the facts. It just didn’t happen. It was planned and designed.