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| The Henry Graves Super-Complication Watch may sell for $17 million. |
The Anglican clergyman William Paley argued for intelligent design by comparing a stone found on a path outside to a watch found in the same place. The stone could have arrived by chance, but the watch is quite different. See M. Behe, Darwin's Black Box, p. 211.
The watch above is going on the auction block at the ultimate watch, with 24 complications, designed to be far more complex than the one ordered by Packard (luxury car maker) with only 16 complications.
If I understand it correctly, a complication in a watch is an added luxury, such as a timer, stopwatch, and moon phases. If one of those fails, the rest still work, I imagine.
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| William Paley argued from the watch found on the trail. |
However, the complications in a plant cell are fatal for the cell when one function fails - and there are many functions of great complexity.
Imagine if you will, a rose seed. Roses start out as seeds unless one is rooting the canes in a glass of water.
The rose seed is complex on its own, but the plant it forms has many different cells carrying out different functions. As the rose grows, assuming no grafting, the cells must form roots, leaves, stems, flowers, prickles, and hips. Rosehips are the fruit of roses and contain the seeds, not unlike apples, which come from the same large family.
Each individual complexity shows design beyond our capacity to explain it. The root tip cells know how to attract fungi to give it food, by offering carbon credits to the fungus. The rose flower attracts pollinating critters to fertilize the seed.
The larger functions astound us, but the microscopic ones should stun us. Here is one plant cell, revealing many different mechanical and chemical functions operating all at once.
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| This pole bean has many different cells - stem, skin, seeds, and flowers - for starters. |
Some of my bean pods were old and over the hill this fall, so I dropped them into the mulch to be absorbed by soil creatures and turned into new plants later. A pile of old bean pods can become a tomato plant in time - through decomposition, but humans cannot take a pot of beans and make tomato soup from them.
Psalm 104 King James Version (KJV)
104 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
17 Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
31 The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works.
32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord.
35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord.