Thursday, January 3, 2008

The geometry of spider webs

Just think about a spider's web. That is a complicated geometric design. And it is created, usually, in a perfect manner. Even though I majored in Drawing and Painting in college, and even though I am a Graphic Artist at work, I could not draw a design that perfectly, freehand. So, does that mean that, even though God has gifted me with some art talent, in addition to the fact that I've had years of training and years of experience, that a little spider is a better artist or designer than I am? (If so, then the company I work at should fire me and hire a spider instead! LOL!) An Evolutionist might say that the spider has had millions of years of natural selection to develop that, but hey, according to the theory of Evolution, humans have had millions of years of natural selection as well! And humans build things too. Yet a spider, using only his body, continually creates geometrically complex advanced shapes that few, if any, human adults could perfectly duplicate, without the aid of machines, or tools such as a pencil and ruler...and even with a pencil and ruler, it would be very complicated, and possibly even impossible, for most people to exactly duplicate.

(by Jeff Jenkins)

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

The spider is more perfect than man in many ways, this can be blamed on man's obviously flawed creator.

Jeff said...

So, you consider this superior:

-having 8 legs
-injecting poison into other creatures to slowly dissolve their insides, then sucking out their insides
-building your home from what comes out of your butt
-eating your mate
-basically living a life of solitude in a web or hole

...to this?:

-the ability for creativity, invention, and technology (i.e., spiders, when building their webs, are carrying out instinctual programming within, rather than inventing something new; other than varying somewhat between types of spiders, the "technology" of webspinning has not changed)
-culture
-walking upright
-an opposing thumb
-speech
-a far more effective brain
-and much, much more
(plus, from a Christian's point of view, an eternal soul)

Anonymous said...

Hilarious retort! I wish my life was as simple as living in my butt-house and waiting for food to fly into it(the house, not my butt)!

The poisonous bite is a plus, as is the lack of a soul. When a spider dies it is certain to both of us that it's existence is over and it's body mass recycled into nature, but when a man dies a christian believes that his job is just beginning! Nooo!

Also, most of what we call 'culture' is merely a control system. Law is needed to punish those without the wealth or wit to to control law. I think the spider has it too easy!

Jeff said...

"I wish my life was as simple as living in my butt-house and waiting for food to fly into it(the house, not my butt)!"

LOL!!

So you would enjoy being a Black Widow or some other spider, biting creatures and poisoning them, and letting them slowly and painfully die? You consider that a plus?? Um...you don't by chance happen to have a habit of going around and biting your family and friends, do you? I mean, seeing as you seem to have a secret desire to be a spider, and all...

I admit I enjoy watching Spider-Man and Venom, but I've never gone *that* far!

As far as sitting in your house and waiting for food to fly in, people already do that. A couch potato having pizza delivered is a perfect example.

So you would prefer to have your entire existence completely ended when you die, instead of being a Christian and having eternal life in Heaven? Wow, no wonder you hate God so much! You would prefer a meaningless, pointless existence, which would end in nothingness; to a life of eternal meaning and purpose, leading up to joy greater than any person on earth has ever experienced. If that's the case, you *might as well* be a spider and live a life of solitude.

As far as culture, law and a 'control system,' I plan to post some messages about that on my blog in the next several weeks or so.

Jeff said...

I just stumbled upon this article that's saying almost the same thing that I said in my original post:

"Spiders and Cavemen Puzzle Evolutionists With Their Art 07/26/2001

The August 2001 issue of National Geographic is out, and contains two honest admissions of puzzlement for evolutionists. In an article on spider webs, biologist Bill Eberhard ponders how evolution could have endowed the lowly spider with these skills:

You have an essentially blind animal with a limited nervous system building a complicated structure in an unpredictable environment. The spider makes what for a human would be very complex calculations: ‘How big is the open space? How much silk do I have? What attachment points are available?’ Spiders are not little automatons making the same thing over and over. They’re flexible. And they’re not stupidly flexible; they’re smart flexible.

The article describes how most spiders have three pairs of spinnerets, each with with hundreds of silk-producing spigots controlled by muscles. Spider silk is more elastic than nylon and stronger than steel.

In an unrelated article, the magazine comments on the artistic skill of prehistoric art found recently in a cave in France, alleged to be 35,000 years old. “Art this old was supposed to be crude and stiff, but there is nothing primitive about Chauvet.” The published pictures reveal the “subtle shading, ingenious use of perspective, and elegant lines of Chauvet’s masterworks” that stunned its discoverers in 1994. “For decades scholars had theorized that art had advanced in slow stages from primitive scratchings to lively, naturalistic renderings . . . . Then carbon dates came in, and prehistorians reeled.

Approximately twice as old as those in the more famous caves [such as Lascoux], Chauvet’s images represented not the culmination of prehistoric art but its earliest known beginnings. A few thousand years after anatomically modern humans appeared in Europe, cave painting was as sophisticated as it would ever be.”
http://creationsafaris.com/crev07.htm#earlyman14

Anonymous said...

Actually you're close!

I would prefer a life where what I did was what mattered. I would rather not be some kind of nameless follower of something that I can't sense in any way. I would work very hard for a company, but not for a cult.

I would cry at a funeral because I know that that is someone I will never see again. Do christians get sad at funerals? It seems they have it WORSE than everyone else, and I can't figure it out!

I believe in creation. I work very hard to make sure what I create is not too similar to something else out there. I will not make my man have ANYTHING in common with a chimpanzee if you catch my drift. There's too many jerks out there doubting my capabilities as it is! I should label them with an arbitrary term and use it on them as an insult...

Pizza just got here. :)

Jeff said...

You say you would prefer a life where what you did was what mattered. Yet, if there is no God, and if we got here by some cosmic accident, then, in the end, nothing really matters! It's all meaningless. If there is no God, you will just return to the dust. If there is no God, then whether the human race continues or not really doesn't matter in the end. Your emotions don't put any real value on it either, because in the end, you and your emotions will cease to exist.

Yes, Christians get sad at funerals. Even Jesus cried when His friend died. Not because He thought He would never see his friend again (He would see his friend again in Heaven), but because its painful to see someone you love die, and because you miss them for now, even if you know you will see them again someday in Heaven.

As far as created things being similar to other things, you can recognize the work of a famous artist by his style. Every painting that particular artist paints has a certain style. Every painting they do has some similarity to the other paintings they do. I think God probably has a style too. Just because an artist's creations all have a similar style does not mean he's a bad artist. It just means that artist is unique.

Jeff said...

Oh, and your "pizza just got here" remark was cute (funny).

Anonymous said...

I disagree a little bit here, I think that what we do matters MORE, because we get one short shot at it :)

Jeff said...

Yes, we do get one short shot of it. But if there is nothing after it, then what does it all matter?