A good way to evaluate scientific theories of origins is to ask what we’d expect to find if the given hypothesis were true and compare that to what we actually observe. Under a Darwinian explanation of life, we’d expect to see designs cobbled together by a blind, undirected process, substandard designs that work but that, in the words of one scientist, wouldn’t win any prizes at an engineering competition. But when we compare that expectation with the scientific evidence, they don’t match up at all. On a new episode of ID the Future, award-winning British engineer and designer Stuart Burgess reads excerpts from his new book Ultimate Engineering. He’s going to share just enough with you today to whet your appetite for reading his book, which is chock full of evidence that humans and other organisms contain countless examples of not just so-so, not just good or very good, but optimal engineering in the design of systems and structures that keep living things alive.
First, Burgess shares a few pages from the Introduction, explaining that there are two views in biology and that contrary to Darwinian expectations, intelligent design predicts superior design. Then he jumps into a few examples of that ultimate engineering, including the wrist joint, the middle ear, the eye, and the nervous system. Then he’ll give you a sneak peak of a new way to understand the amazing diversity of living things we find on Earth: there’s a theory that very adequately explains the extreme diversity of sizes, locomotion types, color-producing mechanisms, and habitats on display all around us. Finally, he’ll share a few words about his own journey advocating for intelligent design: what he has learned about attitudes toward intelligent design and evolution on the ground, in the halls of academia. He’ll briefly relate the time when he and famed biologist Richard Dawkins debated, and he’ll remind us why we are all qualified to evaluate scientific theories of origins, not just the PhDs and researchers in lab coats. Download the podcast or listen to it here.
Dig Deeper
- Order a copy of Burgess’s new book Ultimate Engineering for yourself and a friend!
- Don’t miss my two-part conversation with Stuart about his new book: Links below!
- PART 1: Listen | Watch
- PART 2: Listen | Watch