Book Review: Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge To Evolution

Author: Dr.Michael J. Behe
Spiritual Bias: Christian
Origins Bias: Intelligent Design Proponent
Rating: Top Shelf
Level: Advanced

Comments: In this book, Behe introduces the concept of "irreducible complexity" which states that all of the given components of a system are required in order for that system to function. Therefore, removing one component of an irreducibly complex system renders the overall system useless. This implies that all of the components are needed to be present before that system could have purpose and value. The trademark example that he uses is the mousetrap. After introducing the notion of "irreducible complexity", he uses the construct to challenge Darwinism which posits that slow gradual change can produce the complex systems that are found in living organisms. Behe demonstrates that many of the molecular structures that we find in living things are "irreducibly complex" and thus could not be formed by the natural process of Darwinism. This book is as good as it is controversial and it is probably the most popular book on the market that challenges Darwinism at the biochemical level. It's a must read for those interested in origins.

Summary Quote: "Irreducibly complex systems like mousetraps, Rube Goldberg machines, and the intracellular transport systems cannot evolve in a Darwinian fashion. You can't start with a platform, catch a few mice, add a spring, catch a few more mice, add a hammer, catch a few more mice, and so on: The whole system has to be put together at once or the mice get away. Similarly, you can't start with a signal sequence and have a protein go a little way towards the lysosome, add a signal receptor protein, go a little further, and so forth. It's all or nothing."