>A common criticism of evolution is that there is not enough time in the
>universe for all the possible combinations to be generated to make one living
>cell. This argument always makes the implicit assumption that each sequence
>of DNA is made in a separate process, i.e. as a serial computer. When the
>times are added up for formation of all the possible sequences, the result
>is always enormously bigger than the age of the universe.
>
There is also the fact that in sequence space lots and lots of functions
perform the same function. There are 10^94 different sequences which perform
the cytochrome c function. (see Hubert Yockey, Information Theory and
Molecular Biology, p. 59). There are even more sequences, surrounding these
in sequence space, which will perform the function very poorly.
Duane Gish once wrote:
"The highly specific biological activity of each protein is due to
the precise way the amino acids are arranged, just as the
information conveyed by this sentience is determined by the precise
sequence of the 190 letters found in it."~Duane Gish, "The Origin
of Life," Proc. First Inter. Conf. on Creationism, Vol. 1,
(Pittsburg: Creation Science Fellowship, 1986), p.62
In this Gish is very wrong.
This can be illustrated by my favorite example. How many ways can one say
"If you pick your nose you will get warts"?
I once counted at least 330,000 different ways. Things like:
Picking your nose creates ugly bumps on your hands
Inserting a digit into the nares produces hypertrophy of the corium.
etc. etc.
If one then considers slight mispellings in which the sequence is not correct
but still performs the function you can add millions to that list. Things
like
"Enserting a didgit intwo the nnares produces hypertrophy of thee corium.
So not only are their parallel ways to make the sequences, lots of sequences
will work.
glenn
Foundation,Fall and Flood
http://members.gnn.com/GRMorton/dmd.htm