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CanOrderComeOutofChaos?|TheInstituteforCreationResearch

CanOrderComeOutofChaos?
byHenryMorris,Ph.D.
Thereisanewscienceabroadinthelandthescienceofchaos!Ithasspawnedanew
vocabulary"fractals,""bifurcation,""thebutterflyeffect,""strangeattractors,"and"dissipative
structures,"amongothers.Itsadvocatesareevenclaimingittobeasimportantasrelativity
andquantummechanicsintwentiethcenturyphysics.Itisalsobeingextendedintomany
scientificfieldsandevenintosocialstudies,economics,andhumanbehaviorproblems.Butas
awidelyreadpopularizationofchaosstudiesputsit:

Wherechaosbegins,classicalsciencestops.1
Therearemanyphenomenawhichdependonsomanyvariablesastodefydescriptionin
termsofquantitativemathematics.Yetsuchsystemsthingsliketheturbulenthydraulicsofa
waterfalldoseemtoexhibitsomekindoforderintheirapparentlychaotictumbling,and
chaostheoryhasbeendevelopedtotrytoquantifytheorderinthischaos.
Evenveryregularlinearrelationshipswilleventuallybecomeirregularanddisorderly,ifleftto
themselveslongenough.Thus,anapparentlychaoticphenomenonmaywellrepresenta
breakdowninanoriginallyorderlysystem,evenundertheinfluenceofveryminute
perturbations.Thishasbecomeknownasthe"ButterflyEffect."Gleickdefinesthistermas
follows:

ButterflyEffect:ThenotionthatabutterflystirringtheairinPeking
cantransformstormsystemsnextmonthinNewYork.2
Thereisnodoubtthatsmallcausescancombinewithothersandcontributetomajoreffects
effectswhichtypicallyseemtobechaotic.Thatis,ordercaneasilydegenerateintochaos.Itis
evenconceivablethat,ifonecouldprobethechaoticmilieudeeplyenough,hecoulddiscernto
someextentthepreviouslyorderedsystemfromwhichitoriginated.Chaostheoryis
attemptingtodojustthat,andalsotofindmorecomplexpatternsoforderintheoverallchaos.
Thesecomplexpatternsarecalled"fractals,"whicharedefinedas"geometricalshapeswhose
structureissuchthatmagnificationbyagivenfactorreproducestheoriginalobject."3Ifthat
definitiondoesn'tadequatelyclarifytheterm,trythisone:"spatialformsoffractional
dimensions."4Regardlessofhowtheyaredefined,examplescitedoffractalsaresaidtobe
numerousfromsnowflakestocoastlinestostarclusters.
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Thediscoverythattheremaystillbesomeunderlyingorderinsteadofcompleterandomness
inchaoticsystemsis,ofcourse,stillperfectlyconsistentwiththelawsofthermodynamics.
Thetroubleisthatmanywishfulthinkersinthisfieldhavestartedassumingthatchaoscan
alsosomehowgeneratehigherorderevolutioninparticular.Thisideaisbeinghailedasthe
solutiontotheproblemofhowtheincreasingcomplexityrequiredbyevolutioncouldovercome
thedisorganizingprocessdemandedbyentropy.Thefamoussecondlawofthermodynamics
alsocalledthelawofincreasingentropynotesthateverysystemwhetherclosedoropen
atleasttendstodecay.Theuniverseitselfis"runningdown,"headingtowardanultimate
"heatdeath,"andthishasheretoforebeenanintractableproblemforevolutionists.

Thegrimpictureofcosmicevolutionwasinsharpcontrastwiththe
evolutionarythinkingamongnineteenthcenturybiologists,who
observedthatthelivinguniverseevolvesfromdisordertoorder,
towardstatesofeverincreasingcomplexity.5
TheauthoroftheabovequoteisFritjofCapra,aphysicistattheUniversityofCaliforniaat
Berkeley,oneoftheprominentscientistsinvolvedintheNewAgeMovement,whichtendsto
associateevolutionaryadvancewithcatastrophicrevolutions.Hebelievesthat,insome
mysteriousfashion,chaoscanproduceevolutionaryadvance.
PaulDavies,theprolificBritishwriteronastronomy,isanother.He,likeCapra,isnotan
atheisticevolutionist,butapantheisticevolutionist.Hehasfaiththatordercancomeoutof
chaos,thattheincreasingdisorderspecifiedbytheentropylaw(secondlawof
thermodynamics)cansomehowgeneratetheincreasingcomplexityimpliedbyevolution.

Wenowseehowitispossiblefortheuniversetoincreaseboth
organizationandentropyatthesametime.Theoptimisticand
pessimisticarrowsoftimecancoexist:theuniversecandisplay
creativeunidirectionalprogresseveninthefaceofthesecondlaw.6
Andjusthowhasthisremarkablepossibilitybeenshown?Capraanswersasfollows:

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ItwasthegreatachievementofIlyaPrigogine,whousedanew
mathematicstoreevaluatethesecondlawbyradicallyrethinking
traditionalscientificviewsoforderanddisorder,whichenabledhim
toresolveunambiguouslythetwocontradictorynineteenthcentury
viewsofevolution.7
PrigogineisaBelgianscientistwhoreceivedaNobelPrizein1977forhisworkonthe
thermodynamicsofsystemsoperatingdynamicallyundernonequilibriumconditions.Heargued
(mathematically,notexperimentally)thatsystemsthatwerefarfromequilibrium,withahigh
flowthroughofenergy,couldproduceahigherdegreeoforder.
ManyothershavealsohailedPrigogineasthescientificsaviorofevolutionism,which
otherwiseseemedtobeprecludedbytheentropylaw.AUNESCOscientistevaluatedhis
workasfollows:

WhatIseePrigoginedoingisgivinglegitimizationtotheprocessof
evolutionselforganizationunderconditionsofchange.8
Theassumedimportanceofhis"discovery"isfurtheremphasizedbyCoveny:

Fromanepistemologicalviewpoint,thecontributionsofPrigogine's
BrusselsSchoolareunquestionablyoforiginalimportance.9
Capraelaboratesfurther:

Inclassicalthermodynamics,thedissipationofenergyinheat
transfer,friction,andthelikewasalwaysassociatedwithwaste.
Prigogine'sconceptofadissipativestructureintroducedaradical
changeinthisviewbyshowingthatinopensystemsdissipation
becomesasourceoforder.10
Thefactis,however,thatexceptintheveryweaksense,Prigoginehasnotshownthat
dissipationofenergyinanopensystemproducesorder.Inthechaoticbehaviorofasystemin
whichaverylargeenergydissipationistakingplace,certaintemporarystructures(hecalls

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them"dissipativestructures")formandthensoondecay.Theyhaveneverbeenshowneven
mathematicallytoreproducethemselvesortogeneratestillhigherdegreesoforder.
Heusedtheexampleofsmallvorticesinacupofhotcoffee.Asimilarexamplewouldbethe
muchlarger"vortex"inatornadoorhurricane.Thesemightbeviewedas"structures"andto
appeartobe"ordered,"buttheyaresoongone.Whattheyleaveintheirwakeisnotahigher
degreeoforganizedcomplexity,butahigherdegreeofdissipationanddisorganization.
Andyetevolutionistsarenowarguingthatsuchchaossomehowgeneratesahigherstageof
evolution!PrigoginehasevencoauthoredabookentitledOrderOutofChaos.

Infarfromequilibriumconditions,wemayhavetransformationfrom
disorder,fromthermalchaos,intoorder.11
Itisverysignificant,however,thatallofhisNobelPrizewinningdiscussionshavebeen
philosophicalandmathematicalnotexperimental!Hehimselfhasadmittedthathehasnot
workedinalaboratoryforyears.Suchphenomenaasheandothersaretryingtocallevolution
fromchaostoordermaybemanipulatedonpaperoronacomputerscreen,butnotinreallife.
Noteventhefirst,andabsolutelycritical,stepintheevolutionaryprocessthatoftheself
organizationofnonlivingmoleculesintoselfreplicatingmoleculescanbeexplainedinthis
way.Prigogineadmits:

Theproblemofbiologicalorderinvolvesthetransitionfromthe
molecularactivitytothesupermolecularorderofthecell.This
problemisfarfrombeingsolved.12
Hethenmakesthenaiveclaimthat,sincelife"appeared"onEarthveryearlyingeologic
history,itmusthavebeen(!)"theresultofspontaneousselforganization."Buthe
acknowledgessomeuncertaintyaboutthisremarkableconclusion.

However,wemustadmitthatweremainfarfromanyquantitative
theory.13
Veryfar,infactandevenfartherfromanyexperimentalproof!
Withregardtotheclaimthatthe"order"appearinginfractalssomehowcontributestoevolution,
anewbookdevotedtowhattheauthorispleasedtocall"thescienceofselforganized
criticality,"wenotethefollowingadmission:

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Inthepopularliterature,onefindsthesubjectsofchaosandfractalgeometrylinkedtogether
againandagain,despitethefactthattheyhavelittletodowitheachother....Inshort,chaos
theorycannotexplaincomplexity.14
Thestrangeideaiscurrentlybeingwidelypromotedthat,intheassumedfourbillionyear
historyoflifeontheearth,evolutionhasproceededbymeansoflongperiodsofstasis,
punctuatedbybriefperiodsofmassiveextinctions.Thenrapidevolutionaryemergenceof
organismsofhighercomplexitycameoutofthechaoticmilieucausingtheextinction.

Ontheonehand,acatastrophicextinctionofglobalbiotasmight
negatetheeffectivenessofmanysurvivalmechanismswhich
evolvedduringbackgroundconditions.Simultaneously,suchacrisis
mighteliminategeneticallyandecologicallydiversetaxaworldwide.
Onlyafewspecieswouldbeexpectedtosurviveandseed
subsequentevolutionaryradiations.Thisscenariorequireshigh
levelsofmacroevolutionandexplosiveradiationtoaccountforthe
recoveryofbasicecosystemswithin12myafterPhanerozoicmass
extinctions.15
Suchnotionscomenotfromanyempiricalevidencebutsolelyfromphilosophicalspeculations
basedonlackofevidence!"Sincethereisnoevidencethatevolutionproceededgradually,it
musthaveoccurredchaotically!"Thisseemstobetheidea.
Ifonewantstobelievebyblindfaiththatordercanarisespontaneouslyfromchaos,itisstilla
freecountry.Butpleasedon'tcallitscience!
REFERENCES

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JamesGleick,ChaosMakingaNewScience(NewYork:Viking,
1987),p.3.
2
Ibid.,p.8.
3
McGrawHillDictionaryofScientificandTechnicalTerms(4thed.,
1989),p757.
4
StanG.Smith,"Chaos:MakingaNewHeresyCreationResearch
SocietyQuarterly(Vol.30.March1994),p.196.
5
FritjofCapra,TheWebofLife(NewYork:AnchorBooks,1996),p.
48.
6
PaulDavies,TheCosmicBlueprint(NewYork:Simonand
Schuster,1988),p.85.
7
Capra,opcit.,p.49.
8
AsquotedbyWilLepkowskiin"TheSocialThermodynamicsof
IlyaPrigogine,"ChemicalandEngineeringNews(NewYork,
Bantam,1979),p.30.
9
PeterV.Coveny,"TheSecondLawofThermodynamics:Entropy,
Irreversibility,andDynamics"Nature(Vol.333.June2,1988),p.
414.
10
Capra,opcit.,p.89.
11
IlyaPrigogineandIsabelleStengers,OrderOutofChaos(New
York:BantamBooks,1984),p.12.
12
Ibid.,p.175.
13
Ibid.,p.176.
14
PerBak,HowNatureWorks:TheScienceofSelfOrganized
Criticality(NewYork.SpringerVerlag,1996),p.31.
15
ErleG.KauffmanandDouglasH.Erwin,"SurvivingMass
Extinctions,"Geotimes(Vol.40.March1995),p.15.
*Dr.HenryMorrisisFounderandPresidentEmeritusofICRDr.JohnMorrisisPresidentof
ICR.
Citethisarticle:HenryMorris,Ph.D.1997.CanOrderComeOutofChaos?(http://www.icr.org/article/canordercomeoutchaos/).Acts&Facts.26
(6).

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2015InstituteforCreationResearch.AllRightsReserved.
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