Page 108 - The Miracles of Smell and Taste

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The sense of smell is a primal sense for humans as well as animals. From
an evolutionary standpoint it is one of the most ancient of senses. 93

The olfactory system is often described as the most “primitive” sensory
system. Because of its early phylogenetic development and its connec-
tions to older, subconscious portions of the brain. 94
Sense of smell is evolutionarily older than sight or hearing. 95
At this point, it will be useful to remember that those who issued

these statements are experts with a detailed knowledge of all the olfactory
system’s mechanisms. They cannot be unaware of the system’s complexi-
ty and perfection. Nonetheless, they still have no hesitation at using the
word “primitive” to refer to such a magnificent structure. That’s because a
structure’s being primitive makes more tenable any claims of its forming
by chance. They are unable to explain how any complex system could have
come into being accidentally, but suppose that defending random devel-
opments for a simple structure will somehow seem more convincing.
So on what scientific evidence do evolutionists base such a definitive
judgment? How did the “primitive” sense of smell develop on what they
refer to as the conditions on “the primitive Earth”? If you delve into this
question, the response you find will run something like this:
In the ancient oceans on the primordial Earth, 3 billion years ago, a sin-
gle-celled organism starting its daily life gave off organic chemical sub-
stances. These substances, unknowingly released by this tiny entity, left
behind them traces, which were picked up by a predator. This predator
crept up, attacked, and swallowed its luckless quarry. And in this way,
the sense of smell set out on its long evolutionary process. Professor of
Biology John T. Caprio of Louisiana State University states that initially,
the sense of smell developed in order to identify amino acid-like chem-
ical substances soluble in water. The ability to determine molecules
floating in the air is an adaptation of that original mechanism. 96

The Miracles of Smell and
Taste