Page 13 - Design in Nature

Introduction 11

He is Allah - the Creator, the Maker, the Giver of Form. To Him
belong the Most Beautiful Names. Everything in the heavens and
earth glorifies Him. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. (Surat al-
Hashr: 24)

An Example of Irreducible Complexity: The Eye of the Lobster
There are many different types of eye in the living world. We are
accustomed to the camera-type eye found in vertebrates. This structure
works on the principle of the refraction of light, which falls onto the lens and
is focused on a point behind the lens inside the interior of the eye.
However, the eyes possessed by other creatures work by different
methods. One example is the lobster. A lobster's eye works on a principle of
reflection rather than that of refraction.
The most outstanding characteristic of the lobster eye is its surface,
which is composed of numerous squares. As shown in the picture on the
next page, these squares are positioned most precisely.
The eye of a lobster shows a remarkable geometry not found elsewhere
in nature - it has tiny facets that are perfectly square, so it "looks like
perfect graph paper." 2
These well-arranged squares are in fact the ends of tiny square tubes
forming a structure resembling a honeycomb. At first glance, the
honeycomb appears to be made up of hexagons, although these are actually
the front faces of hexagonal prisms. In the lobster's eye, there are the squares
in place of hexagons.
Even more intriguing is that the sides of each one of these square tubes
are like mirrors that reflect the incoming light. This reflected light is focused
onto the retina flawlessly. The sides of the tubes inside the eye are lodged at
such perfect angles that they all focus onto a single point. 3
The extraordinary nature of the design of this system is quite
indisputable. All of these perfect square tubes have a layer that works just
like a mirror. Furthermore, each one of these cells is sited by means of
precise geometrical alignments so that they all focus the light at a single
point.
It is obvious that the design in the lobster eye presents a great difficulty
for the theory of evolution. Most importantly, it exemplifies the concept of