Okay, here goes...
Run of the mill complexity: a garbage dump is a complex pile of junk. A bunch of random magnetic letters on a refrigerator. NaCl forms crystals under certain conditions; these crystals are ordered and may be considered to be complex, but their ordering is repetitive, based on NaCl’s chemical properties, and has no message carrying capacity from a biological standpoint. A flask of inorganic amino acids has complexity, but no specific function—they would have to be arranged in a certain way in order to carry the information needed to function in an organism. (If the flask contains both R- and L-isomers, the amino acids couldn’t form the needed arrangement because of the presence of the wrong isomer. If just one molecule of the wrong isomer joined to a DNA strand, it would keep the strand from forming the double helix shape, and it wouldn’t function properly.) A building supply or auto parts store has run of the mill complexity—there are a lot of parts or building blocks, but they don’t do anything on their own. (of course, individual items in a store might have specified complexity, such as a shower head or an AC unit, but there is no specification as to how these individual units are to fit into a larger unit such as a building)
Specified complexity: A jet plane is full of specified complexity; its parts have been created and specified to fit precisely with each other in order to function properly. The machinery used to create those parts have been precisely calibrated in order to meet the necessary specifications. Human technology, such as circuit boards and computer software, exhibit specified complexity. DNA has specified complexity; specific amino acids are arranged in very specific manners so that the DNA’s codons can direct specific functions in an organism. Without the correct ingredients and arrangement, one has only a complex mass of chemicals (run of the mill complexity) that perform no function at all. DNA codes specify for the creation of the enzymes, hormones, and other processes needed for body function. Consider the Kreb’s cycle of metabolism—it consists of a number of steps, each with its own specific enzyme which must be created according to the ‘blueprint’ found in the organism’s DNA. A bunch of letters on the refrigerator spelling a message (“See you tonight”) has specified complexity. One could say that when complexity is specified, it is organized in a way that produces a certain action or carries a certain message. Each codon in DNA has a purpose, whether it’s to produce a certain eye color, build a certain enzyme, or moderate a specific cellular function.
I’m thinking there’s a proper name for ‘run of the mill’ complexity, but it’s not coming to my mind.
Specificity has to do with function, not goals. Biological organisms function in very specific ways. They have cells and body parts that function in specific ways which are useful to the organism. The purpose of the eye is to see one’s surroundings and communicate that info to the brain. Nerves, muscles, neurons, blood vessels, and so on work together so that the eye can perform its proper function. These muscles, neurons, and so on, are made up of cells, which themselves are made up of even smaller parts, such as mitochondria, nuclei, and cell walls. At each level, the parts must operate within certain specified parameters in order for the total organism to function properly and stay alive. If your body pH varies outside a very narrow range, you die. If your pancreas doesn’t function properly, you have diabetes.
What you appear to be saying is that one can get from run of the mill complexity to the very specific complexity present in living organisms, simply by random processes and enough time, with no intelligent intervention. Yet no one has ever observed specified complexity developing through random processes over time. Planes and computers don’t build themselves, and letters don’t form into words of their own volition. In each case of specified complexity, an outside intelligence acts in order to produce it—engineers design and build airplanes, experts design and build computers and circuit boards, a family member creates a message on the fridge, an author writes a book. Even the ‘cyber creatures’ in that article wouldn’t have existed without the intelligent input of computer scientists and programmers. It would seem logical to conclude that an intelligent being (I would say, the God of the Bible) also created the universe and the living beings that exist in it.
Susan
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