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IC is a prediction made by Dr Behe in his 1996 book Darwins Black Box (2007, second edition of the

book). In this book, Dr Behe coined the term irreducible complexity. In this book, Dr Behe
predicted that certain molecular/biochemical systems would be found to be irreducibly complex
that you take out parts of these systems, it ceases to function properly.
Those specific systems were 1) the bacterial flagellum, 2) cilium, 3) blood-clotting cascade, and
4) immune system. Its been 17 years since the first publication of the book and researches has
been conducted, and the flagellum has been shown to be indeed irreducibly complex.
Its been thoroughly researched, its genes knocked out, reverse engineered, and its genome
sequenced. It is a scientific fact that the flagellum has no evolutionary precursor. Thats not a
wild guess; it was scientific conclusion based upon thorough examination, a result of tedious
researches and series of experiments.
Dr Ken Miller argued that IC was false hypothesis. He suggested a bacterium (the TTSS) whose
motor was a precursor of Behes flagellum. What Miller was actually saying here was that Behes
model of bacterial flagellum was indeed a product of Darwinian stepwise, and gradual process.
Dr. Behe was arguing, in his Darwins Black Box book, that Bacterial Flagellum could NOT have
been a product of Darwinian step-wise evolutionary process. That the parts, according to the
prediction made by Behe, were irreducibly complex that its parts could only come in ONE single
batch, not through Darwinian gradual evolution. A gradual, stepwise evolution could not have
produced those type of complex molecular machine as a non-functioning parts would NOT
provide advantage to the organism and, thus, will not be favored by Darwinian natural selection.
The paper Ive linked you, guys, to above shows that Miller was wrong in saying the TTSS was a
precursor of bacterial flagellum. IT was the other way around. TTSS was derived/evolved from
bacterial flagellum. There was no evolutionary pathway. TTSS is a syringe that injects pathogens
into a EUKARYOTE host. But, the domain eukarya arose some 500 million years AFTER
bacteria. Bacteria were swimming around using their flagella for propulsion long before the
TTSS existed. Flagellum originated some 3.5 million years ago. So, there is no evolutionary
precursor to a bacterial flagellum. Behes prediction of IC remains true.

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The reason why IC is scientifically valid is because there is no attempt to base the prediction upon absence of evidence or
lack of knowledge (which you refer to as the God of the Gaps, I presume). Instead, everything we know about flagellum,
knowledge that strongly affirmed Irreducible Complexity, were empirical data derived from tedious scientific researches and
experiments such as various procedures in molecular biology as 1) gene knockout, 2) reverse engineering, 3) examining
homologous systems, and 4) sequencing the genome of the biochemical structure.

These are all repeatable, quantifiable, testable methods.


47 minutes ago Like

Michael De Lara Gonna call you on this one.


"To refute IC, Miller has to show that:
1) the Bacterial flagellum still operates upon removal of a protein
or ...See More
45 minutes ago Like

Left Hook Olek These procedures have all affirmed to the validity of the scientific prediction of IC: the flagellum is indeed
irreducibly complex. Take out a part, it ceases to function; put it back in the system, you restore its motility. Losing motility
is a huge disadvantage to the bacteria. It can no longer swim. It will not survive when selected. Picture a tiger who can't
move in a den of lions.

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