Page 230 - The Errors the American National Academy of Sciences

The Errors of the American National Academy of Sciences

tures are really nothing of the sort:
However, structures and processes
that are claimed to be "irreducibly"
complex typically are not on closer
inspection. For example, it is incor-
rect to assume that a complex
structure or biochemical process
can function only if all its compo-
nents are present and functioning
as we see them today. Complex
biochemical systems can be built up from
AJAWLESS FISH THAT
simpler systems through natural selec-
LIVED IN THE MESO-
tion. (Science and Creationism, p. 22) ZOIC PERIOD

The NAS authors cite the hemoglobin
molecule as an example of their claim.
According to the NAS claim, jawed fish
evolved from jawless ones. The hemoglobin
of the former is more complex than that of
the latter. In other words, according to the
NAS, the irreducibly complex hemoglobin
of a jawed fish evolved from the hemoglo-
bin in a simpler animal. With this claim, the

NAS imagines it has explained how an irre-
ducibly complex molecule came into being!
This is pure fantasy, since nothing has
been said that might benefit the theory of
evolution. In attempting to explain the ori-
gin of irreducibly complex structures, the
NAS authors rely not on a concrete scientific

truth but on the assumptions of the theory
of evolution. The evolution of jawed fish

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