This chapter will introduce several examples to show that knowledge can be created by
living organisms. This knowledge is created by chance in steps. The size of the step in
knowledge determines whether or not chance will find an appropriate solution (figure 1 on
page 6). This chapter will also evaluate the probability that Darwinian evolution by means
of natural selection explains such steps in knowledge. Finally, with the help of
information theory, intelligent design will be shown as a viable alternative if and only
if the required steps in useful information are very large. This chapter defines two
terms: 1) Darwinian evolution is evolution that only requires small steps in useful
information. Darwinian evolution supports the theory of evolution. 2) Evolution by design
is evolution that requires large steps in knowledge. Chance and natural selection do
not explain evolution by design.
The Trapped Scientist
A scientist is placed in a locked room with a computer and a combination lock on the door.
He is told that the door will open when he types the correct combination of words into the
computer and pushes enter. He is given a basket containing 20 wooden blocks (Figure 2.1).
Each block has a single word written on it. The words are as follows: cat, drink, bike,
book, apple, run, man, soon, dog, coconut, zoo, fun, radio, sun, walk, milk, water, pear,
plant, computer. The scientist is instructed to shake the basket and then select a block
without looking at it. He is to read the word, enter it in the computer, and place the
block back in the basket. He is further instructed to repeat this procedure until he has
entered four words into the computer. He is to press enter to see if the door opens.
The combination to the door is cat-apple- *- run. The asterisk has a
special meaning. At this position, any word is acceptable. There are 160,000 possible
combinations, and 20 will open the door. It is very unlikely that the scientist will
select the correct one on the first try. Each time he enters 4 words on the computer and
pushes enter, the door has a 1 in 8000 chance of opening ( 1 in 20 for first word, 1 in 20
for the second, 1 in 1 for the third, and 1 in 20 for the fourth means that the odds are 1
in 20 x 20 x 1 x 20 or 1 in 8,000).
Figure 2.1: Trapped Scientist with 4 Word Combination
After a few thousand unsuccessful tries, the scientist draws cat-
apple-dog-run. When he presses enter, the door opens (figure 2.1). This combination of
words contains useful information, the knowledge that is needed to open the door. This
knowledge was found by chance. Furthermore, this knowledge confers an advantage in that it
allows the scientist to leave the room. In all of these examples, a door opening will
represent a step in knowledge that confers an advantage. This book will call such a step
an infon. An infon can be defined in terms of either knowledge or information.
Definition: an infon is a step in molecular knowledge found
by chance.
Definition: an infon is the minimum step in information found by chance that confers a
selective advantage.
Now consider the same example with a much longer combination. The combination is now
drink-computer-cat-cat-bike-book-book-run-man- sun-dog-fun. The scientist is instructed to
repeat the procedure of drawing words from the basket until he enters 12 words.
The number of possible combinations is now 4096 trillion. The scientist
has a 1 in 4096 trillion chance of opening the door every time he presses enter. If he
draws words for the rest of his life (even if he lives for a 100 million years), he will
probably never open the door. The odds of him finding the correct combination are now just
too remote. The knowledge needed to open the door can no longer be found by chance because
the infon contains too much information (figure 2.2).
Figure 2.2: Trapped Scientist with 12 Word Combination
In figure 2.2, the information per word is given by equation 2 on page
25. Information = 3.32 x log(20) = 4.32 bits per word. Since fractions are easier to use,
4.32 is approximately 41/3 bits; therefore, the door with a 12 word combination requires
52 bits of information to open (12 words x 41/3 bits per word). The door with the 4 word
combination only needs 3 words to be correct; therefore, its combination contains 13 bits
of information (3 x 41/3). Figure 2.3 shows how the number of bits influences chance. Each
combination is represented by a wall, and each bit adds 6 inches to the wall. If chance is
represented by the scientist, then he can climb over the small wall (6.5 feet high), but
he cannot climb over the 26 foot wall.
Figure 2.3: Knowledge Represented by a Wall to Climb
next: Information,
Order, Complexity
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