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In Just Eight Minutes, New Video Punctures Evolution’s Circular “Homology” Argument

The biology textbook my daughter uses in high school, Miller and Levine’s Biology, is in wide use. It’s the one from Pearson with the parrot on the cover. On page 468, it employs a circular argument beloved by evolutionists: the argument from homology. The same argument features in many different textbooks. And it is regularly cited by biologists in scolding the public about their Darwin doubts.

“Long Story Short”

Here is a really brief, cute, and effective new video from Discovery Institute that addresses and deftly punctures this argument. Just eight minutes long!

It’s part of a freshly launched occasional series, “Long Story Short,” that compresses key points in the debate between Darwinism and intelligent design into a very welcome format: concise, accessible, and funny. As the narrator explains, “One of the main arguments Darwin used for his theory was that of homology, these odd similarities between very different animals. Why would they be so similar unless they were related?”

Why Indeed? 

The answer: “Homology can’t be used as evidence for evolution because it assumes the very thing it’s trying to prove.” In other words, Homology therefore evolution, evolution therefore homology. “And when biologists try to fix this by pointing to DNA or other areas it only further undermines the case.” This is nicely explained.

The video was developed in an ingenious way by its creator, writer, and animator. And who is that? I can’t share that information with you because, as you probably know, people in a range of professions, scientists, scholars, and others, can’t freely question hegemonic Darwinism without risking their careers. As Yale’s David Gelernter has put it, “You take your life in your hands to challenge it intellectually. They will destroy you if you challenge it.” And this video’s animator is no exception.

Strengths and Weaknesses

He got motivated about taking up the design question in biology after reading Stephen Meyer’s Darwin’s Doubt and Jerry Coyne’s Why Evolution Is True and comparing the strengths and weaknesses of the case each book makes. He comments:

Not many of us have the time or inclination to read some of these massive tomes, and academic papers. The goal is to help more people understand the current state of the debate at a popular level, while still being scientifically accurate and presenting the best responses from both sides in an entertaining way.

And on that, he has succeeded. In future videos he plans to cover whale evolution, vestigial organs, biogeography, embryology, and more. Congratulations to the anonymous animator, and thank you!