Multiple Distinct Laws — One Function

A computer motherboard has many working parts, each fulfilling an essential role that contributes to the one functional device — a personal computer.

Above is an image of a man-made device that consists of multiple complicated parts designed to work together.

There are also many examples of distinct "laws" of physics and of nature that work together to fulfil a single purpose.

Many parts — one purpose!

How did evolution manage to coordinate these? In so many examples, too many to list fully, even if one part is missing, or fails to work properly, the overall function would not be fulfilled!

And if the function is missing, the fine balance of nature would be significantly affected with consequences ranging from a universe that is unable to provide a comfortable existence for its occupants, to one that is incapable of producing or supporting life at all.

A mechanical clock has many working parts

Numerous Disparate Yet Mutually Dependent Laws
(for a technical explanation of the above image, see the article 'The Interwoven Threads of the Symphony of Creation' below.)

These functions are depicted by the seemingly precarious "sphere towers" in the illustration above. The individual spheres in the image represent supporting items, or "laws," that happen to work together to provide complete and efficient functions that are essential for the emergence and continuation of life in the universe.

How could a purposeless process coordinate these complex and distinct functions to satisfy the multiple requirements of a universe well suited for life?

Below is a small selection of these functions, each illustrating the complex synergy of multiple "laws" working together.

Every example corresponds to one of the "sphere towers" depicted in the image above. The individual components — the "spheres" — symbolise the laws, principles, or forces of nature that work in harmony to achieve the described functionality. This is akin to the numerous interconnected parts of the computer motherboard illustrated above, which collectively fulfil the single function of a Personal Computer.

Following an examination of the examples below, however, it can be readily seen that the examples of man-made machines pale in comparison to the complexity and elegance of the natural world, both around us and within us!

The challenge is clearly presented for evolution to produce all of these multi-faceted functions without the use of intentional order or purposeful design; and to complete not just the examples included below, but every organised interconnected function, without losing the balance and order manifest in nature. Also, the challenge extends to supporters of evolution to explain how these forces and principles happened to combine in their respective specific ways. (See also the discussion on 'Disparate Components — One Function.')

Greenhouse Effect

Keeping Earth, Humans, and Animals Warm

The laws of thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and the properties of atmospheric gases combine to contribute to the trapping of heat by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and water vapor.

Atmospheric and Ocean Currents

The Coriolis Effect

This arises mainly from Earth's rotation, described by Newton's laws of motion, and on the principle of inertia (including quantum vacuum interactions), geographical latitude, and the law of conservation of angular momentum. This effect governs the circulation of atmospheric and oceanic currents.

Regulating Earth's Temperature

Planetary Albedo

The reflection of solar radiation by the Earth's surface and atmosphere, determined by the laws of optical physics (which, in turn, are determined by laws belonging to particle physics and quantum mechanics), play a key role in regulating temperature.

Maintaining Earth's Climate

Plate Tectonics

This involves geological processes powered by Earth's internal heat (derived, in turn, from radioactive decay). It helps recycle carbon through the Earth's crust and atmosphere, maintaining long-term climate stability.

Vision

Seeing the World Around Us

The ability of sight showcases an extraordinary interplay of anatomy, biochemistry, and physics, in parallel with the multiple organs involved. Here are the main ones:

Pupil and Iris: Control the amount of light entering the eye.

Cornea and Lens: These structures refract light to focus it on the retina.

Retina: Packed with photoreceptor cells (rods and cones), it converts light into neural signals through a cascade of biochemical reactions.

Sclera: The white outer layer of the eye that protects and supports it structurally.

Vitreous Humor: A gel-like substance that helps maintain the eye's shape and optical clarity.

Sensory System: The eyes are specialised sensory organs that detect light and colour. — (See the complementary article 'Fingertip Sensitivity — Calibrated or Fortuitous?')

The rods and cones allow for low-light vision and colour detection.

Muscular System: Controls eye movement with extrinsic eye muscles, enabling tracking and focus.

Ciliary Muscles: Adjust the shape of the lens to accurately focus light on the retina.

Extrinsic Eye Muscles: Facilitate eye movements and tracking.

Eyelids and Tears: Protect the eye surface and keep it hydrated, preventing damage.

Choroid: Provides nourishment and oxygen to the eye structures.

Endocrine System: Hormones regulate eye development and responses, such as dilation or contraction of pupils.

Circulatory System: Provides blood supply to the retina, optic nerve, and other structures of the eye, ensuring they receive oxygen and essential nutrients.

Optic Nerve and Brain: The optic nerve transmits these signals to the visual cortex, where the brain interprets them into images. Neural pathways also coordinate eye movement and focus.

Physical and Chemical Principles: Together, principles of optics (light refraction), biochemistry (phototransduction), and neural connectivity collaborate to create the miracle of sight.

How did the process of evolution coordinate these complex systems to provide this one function?

Interpreting Sound

Hearing the World Around Us

The auditory system is tuned to the laws of acoustics, mechanics, and biochemistry, as well as the physical laws upon which these systems are based:

Outer Ear: Collects sound waves and funnels them into the ear canal.

Middle Ear: Vibrations are amplified by the eardrum, the malleus, incus, and stapes, and tiny ossicles (ear bones) — mechanical leverage at work.

Muscular System: Small muscles in the middle ear, such as the stapedius and tensor tympani, help control the vibrations of the ossicles to protect the inner ear from loud sounds.

Cochlea: A spiral-shaped organ that houses hair cells responsible for converting vibrations into electrical signals. The combination of the properties of mechanical wave propagation, signal transduction, and neural interpretation makes hearing possible.

Hair Cells: Detect specific frequencies of sound and initiate signal transduction.

Auditory Nerve (Cochlear Nerve): Carries electrical signals from the cochlea to the brain.

Vestibular System (also part of balance): Provides spatial orientation that complements hearing.

Nervous System: The auditory nerve (cranial nerve VIII) carries electrical signals from the inner ear to the brain.

Endocrine System: Hormones influence the development and function of auditory organs, as well as the brain regions involved in hearing.

Circulatory System: Supplies oxygen and nutrients to auditory structures.

The Brain: Specifically the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe, processes and interprets the electrical signals into meaningful sound.

Note that we do not really need the outer ear! Try this test: pin back your ears and listen! The sound is still heard, but its quality is reduced. — See the discussion on this, and its implications for "natural selection," in the article Beyond Fine-tuning.

Blood Circulation

A Marvel of Complex Integration

How many distinct body systems are involved in delivering essential oxygen to our bodies' cells? Here are some of the main ones:

Heart: Pumps oxygenated blood to the body and deoxygenated blood to the lungs.

Lungs: Facilitate oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange, a process governed by gas diffusion and partial pressure laws.

Blood Vessels: Distribute blood via arteries, veins, and capillaries, optimizing flow through principles of fluid dynamics.

Nervous System: Regulates heart rate and blood pressure via the autonomic nervous system, ensuring proper blood flow.

Endocrine System: Hormones like adrenaline (from the adrenal glands) and erythropoietin (from the kidneys) influence blood pressure, heart rate, and assist red blood cell production.

Digestive System: Provides nutrients that are absorbed into the bloodstream and are then transported throughout the entire body.

Urinary System: The kidneys filter blood to remove waste products, maintaining electrolyte and fluid balance, essential for the main components of blood.

Lymphatic System: Works closely with the circulatory system to return leaked fluid from tissues back into the bloodstream.

Skeletal System: Bone marrow produces red and white blood cells essential for carrying oxygen and contributing to our immune defence.

Muscular System: Skeletal muscles assist in pumping blood, especially in veins, through their contractions during movement.

Haemoglobin in Red Blood Cells: Binds oxygen efficiently, leveraging chemical affinity to transport it where needed. Here, anatomy, chemistry, and physics collaborate seamlessly to sustain our lives.

Reproduction

Passing on Life

Passing on life is, in many respects, a selfless act, performed by the so-called "selfish gene" that evolutionists propound. How complex is this function, and how many disparate body systems are involved?

Hormonal Regulation: Regulates reproductive cycles, puberty, and fertility through hormones like oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

Multiple organs are involved: Pituitary gland, hypothalamus, ovaries, testes, etc.

Nervous System (Coordination and Sensation): Controls sexual arousal, reproductive behaviours, and coordination of involuntary functions such as labour contractions, to list a small number of examples.

Involves the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves.

Circulatory System (Nutrient and Oxygen Supply): Provides blood supply to reproductive organs and supports the development of the foetus during pregnancy.

Includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood.

Muscular System (Movement and Contractions): Involved in childbirth (uterine contractions) and sperm delivery (peristaltic movements in reproductive ducts). Includes smooth and skeletal muscles.

Skeletal System (Support and Protection): Provides the pelvic structure necessary for childbirth and protection of reproductive organs.

Male/Female Anatomical Compatibility: Did evolution provide for the distinct designs of the human male and female? How did it coordinate the required complex compatibility on so many multiple levels? How did it organise the functionality of two distinct cells, the egg and sperm cells? All of this requires an exceptional level of compatibility to eventually produce another unique human with its own distinct features and self-identity!

Cellular Mechanics: Fertilization relies on specific molecular recognition and complex interaction between sperm and egg cells.

Genetic Code: DNA replicates and recombines to ensure diversity while safeguarding continuity of life. This exquisite orchestration blends particle physics, molecular biology, cellular mechanics, and genetic principles.

Respiratory System

Taking in the Breath of Life

Is it only our lungs that are involved in the process of breathing and our body's use of oxygen? The list below also includes a few more:

Lungs: Facilitate gas exchange — oxygen is absorbed, and carbon dioxide is expelled — through diffusion across thin alveolar membranes.

Circulatory System: Oxygen is transported by red blood cells in the blood, which is circulated throughout the body by the heart and blood vessels.

Diaphragm and Intercostal Muscles: Create the mechanical motion needed to expand and contract the lungs, governed by the principles of Newtonian mechanics.

Nervous System: The brainstem regulates the rhythm of breathing and adjusts it based on oxygen levels in the blood.

Skeletal System: The ribcage provides protection and structural support for the lungs, aiding their ability to expand and contract during respiration.

Endocrine System: Hormones like adrenaline increase the rate of breathing and oxygen delivery during stress or exertion.

Digestive System: Provides glucose and other nutrients that combine with oxygen at the cellular level for energy production during cellular respiration.

Blood Vessels: Transport gases via red blood cells, which use haemoglobin to bind oxygen in a chemically efficient manner. The harmony of anatomy, fluid mechanics, and biochemistry enables the simple yet vital act of breathing.

Immune Response

Defeating Tiny Invaders

How many distinct body systems are involved in this exceptionally complicated and essential process? Here are a few of the main ones:

White Blood Cells: Utilise biochemical processes to identify and destroy pathogens.

Antibodies: Neutralise invaders with highly specific molecular interactions.

Lymphatic System: Transports immune cells and drains fluid, governed by fluid dynamics and biochemistry.

Circulatory System: Delivers immune cells to sites of infection or injury via blood vessels.

Skeletal System: Houses the bone marrow, where most immune cells are produced.

Integumentary System (Skin): Acts as the first line of defense against pathogens.

Endocrine System: Produces hormones that regulate immune responses, such as cortisol.

Nervous System: Communicates with the immune system through neuroimmunological pathways.

The immune system combines rapid cellular responses and precise molecular mechanisms to protect our bodies.

How did the process of evolution coordinate these complex systems to provide this one function vital for our body's protection?

Healing Wounds

Cellular Self-Repair

Platelets and Clotting Factors: Facilitate blood clotting through a cascade of biochemical reactions, sealing injuries.

Inflammatory Response: White blood cells combat potential infections, guided by immune system signals.

Tissue Regeneration: Fibroblasts rebuild damaged tissue using energy and raw materials from metabolic processes. This process leverages biochemistry, cell biology, and immunology to restore the body.

Circulatory System: Delivers essential nutrients, oxygen, and immune cells to the site of injury via blood flow.

Immune System: Detects pathogens at the wound site, removes debris, and fights off infections with white blood cells and inflammation. Facilitates clotting by supplying platelets and clotting factors.

Skeletal System: Bone marrow produces white blood cells essential for the immune response and healing.

Muscular System: Assists in pumping blood and lymphatic fluid via muscle contractions, aiding circulation around the wound site.

Lymphatic System: Drains excess fluid from the wound site and transports immune cells to the area.

Nervous System: Signals pain and tissue damage, triggering the body's repair processes and helping coordinate the inflammatory response.

Endocrine System: Releases hormones (e.g., cortisol, growth factors) that regulate inflammation and tissue regeneration.

Balance & Coordination

Slick Body Control

Nervous System (Central Role):
Brain: The cerebellum and vestibular nuclei process sensory information for balance.
Spinal Cord and Nerves: Transmit signals for muscle adjustments.

Vestibular System: Found in the inner ear, it detects head position and movement using fluid dynamics and sensory hair cells. (See the complimentary article 'Fingertip Sensitivity — Calibrated or Fortuitous?'.)

Skeletal System: The bones and joints provide the structural framework needed for stability and movement. Rely on Newtonian mechanics, with forces generated by muscles and signals from the nervous system transmitted to bones for movement.

Energy Systems: Aerobic and anaerobic metabolism provide the energy needed for prolonged activity or short bursts of speed.

Biomechanical Systems: Involves the vestibular system (inner ear), proprioception (awareness of limb position), and neural feedback loops to maintain stability. Biomechanics, energy production, and neural control combine for the simple yet astonishing act of movement.

Integumentary (Skin) System: Sensory receptors in the skin detect pressure and changes in position (proprioception), supplying essential feedback to the nervous system.

Visual System: The eyes provide spatial orientation and help the brain coordinate movements based on visual cues.

Circulatory System: Ensures oxygen and nutrients are delivered to muscles and the brain for sustained coordination.

Keeping Stars Stable

Quantum Tunnelling

Within the high-pressure core of a star, protons (positively charged hydrogen nuclei) repel each other due to Coulomb forces (from electromagnetism). However, quantum mechanics allows them to tunnel through this repulsion barrier, enabling nuclear fusion to occur with greater regularity and at temperatures lower than expected.

Keeping Stars Powered

The Strong Nuclear Force

Once protons, at the centre of each atom, are sufficiently close together (thanks to quantum tunnelling), the strong nuclear force — the most powerful force in nature — binds them together into heavier nuclei, such as helium. This releases a tremendous amount of energy that powers stars.

Energy-Mass Equivalence

Making Stars Shine

A small fraction of the mass of the fusing nuclei of the atoms inside stars is converted into energy, as described by Einstein’s theory of relativity (specifically E = mc²). This energy makes stars shine.

Energy for Stars

Maintaining Nuclear Fusion

The force of gravity continually compresses stars, creating the extreme temperatures and pressures necessary for fusion to occur. Without this, there would be no heavy elements that are essential for life.

Without gravity, there would be no nuclear fusion. But without the mass of the star, there would be no gravity (or very little)!

Self-energising Cells

Biochemistry's Cycles

Cellular respiration relies on a series of meticulously coordinated enzymatic reactions, such as glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. These processes break down glucose into usable energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate, the "energy currency" of our cells).

Using Energy to Make Energy

Energy Efficiency

Within mitochondria, the power houses of the human cell, the electron transport chain pumps protons across the inner membrane, creating a proton gradient. This electrochemical gradient is a form of potential energy that drives ATP synthesis. These reactions are governed by the laws of thermodynamics, particularly conservation of energy and efficient energy transfer. The chemical energy of glucose is converted into ATP's usable form with minimal waste as heat.

Quantum Biology

Our Bodies Use Quantum Mechanics

The tunnelling of electrons through protein complexes in the electron transport chain involves quantum mechanical principles, allowing for efficient energy transfer within the cell.

Note how this parallels the use of quantum tunnelling within the heart of stars!

Molecular Machinery

Our Cells Use Biophysics

ATP synthase, within our cells, is a molecular turbine. Its rotating mechanism is powered by the proton gradient, an astounding example of physics at work within highly complex biology.

Speech

Our Amazing Ability to Communicate

Vocal Cords and Airflow: Vibrations created by the vocal cords use principles of sound wave generation and resonance.

Mouth and Tongue: Shape sounds into distinct phonemes, governed by principles of acoustics.

Respiratory System: Provides the airflow from the lungs, which is essential for creating sound. Controls breath support, allowing variation in volume and tone.

Muscular System: Controls the diaphragm, intercostal muscles which regulate airflow for speaking, and muscles of the vocal cords, lips, tongue, and jaw.

Skeletal System: Structures such as the ribcage support breathing, while the jaw and skull and nasal passage provide the framework for articulation.

Circulatory System: Supplies oxygen and nutrients to all the muscles and tissues involved.

Auditory System: Facilitates feedback for effective verbal communication as we hear our own speech, enabling real-time adjustments to pronunciation and volume.

Endocrine System: Influences vocal characteristics through hormones like testosterone and oestrogen, which affect pitch and tone.

Integumentary System (Skin): The facial skin and muscles work together to create expressions, enhancing non-verbal communication.

Brain and Nervous System: Coordinate speech through neural control of muscles of the tongue, lips, and vocal cords, and cognitive processing for language formation.

The synergy of physics, anatomy, physiology, and neural networks allows us to communicate intelligently by articulating words and conveying meaning and emotion through our facial expressions, movements, and gestures, as well as our organs of speech.

Evidently, for evolution to provide humans with the ability of speech requires considerable foresight and planning!

Electro-Chemical Work

Multiple Complexity in our Brain Signals!

Our brains' neurons communicate via electrical impulses (action potentials) that rely on the movement of ions across the cell membrane. This process depends on the electrical and chemical gradients maintained by arrays of ion pumps and channels.

Nervous System: The brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves are central to generating, transmitting, and interpreting signals.

Neurons communicate via electrical impulses (action potentials) and chemical signals (neurotransmitters).

Circulatory System: Supplies oxygen and nutrients to the brain through blood flow.

Removes waste products like carbon dioxide to maintain optimal brain function.

Endocrine System: Hormones like adrenaline, cortisol, and dopamine influence brain activity, mood, and cognition.

Glands such as the hypothalamus and pituitary work closely with the brain to regulate processes like stress response and homeostasis.

Respiratory System: Provides oxygen to the blood, which is essential for maintaining the brain's high metabolic activity.

Regulates carbon dioxide levels, which influence the brain's pH and overall functioning.

Muscular System: Works alongside the nervous system to interpret and execute motor signals for movement and reflexes.

Skeletal System: Protects the brain with the skull and houses calcium reserves, critical for neurotransmission and signal conduction.

Integumentary System (Skin): Contains sensory receptors that relay information about touch, temperature, and pain to the brain for processing.

Digestive System: Provides glucose and other nutrients necessary for energy production in brain cells.

The gut-brain axis highlights how gut microbiota and digestion influence brain signals and emotions.

Lymphatic System: Helps clear waste products during sleep. Includes the glymphatic system in the brain.

Muscle Signals & Homeostasis!

Muscles Use Electro-Chemical Signals

Muscle contraction follows Newton’s laws, as the generated force is transmitted through tendons to move bones. Muscle contraction is triggered by electrical signals (action potentials) traveling along nerves to muscle fibres. The influx of calcium ions (electromagnetism and diffusion) initiates the contraction cycle.

Cell Machine Interaction

Our Muscles Know Their Chemistry!

Actin and myosin proteins slide past each other, powered by ATP (adenosine triphosphate), to generate force. This process depends on highly specific molecular interactions.

Technical Note

The Specifics of Design

When presented with argumentation similar to the above, evolutionary scientists often respond along the lines of "nature has made things this way, and sometimes we don't know the 'why' of the question."

For example, the famous Danish physicist Neils Bohr, was quoted as saying:

"It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about Nature."
— Quoted in Aage Petersen, The Philosophy of Niels Bohr in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 1963, XIX, 7, p. 12.

This agrees with the view of many physicists, who are concerned with "the mechanics" of things, but leave the question of "why things are" to philosophy and theology.

But the "why" side of the study regarding the composition, arrangement, forces or "laws," when examining the specific items of physics and nature, and the combined effect of all of these on everything in the world around us, is a natural consequence of the impressive order manifest in nature. Intelligent humans feel a need to ask "why," and it is a line of enquiry deep thinking people pursue.

But here is a question to ponder:

Although there is much to be gained from learning about how things work, which type of enquiry would you say has the greater potential value in regard to our lives and our individual futures:

the "how" answers,
or the "why" answers?

The Interwoven Threads
of the Symphony of Creation

This image, displayed at the beginning of the above article, shows how so many of the items in the universe are interconnected and interdependent.

Below you will find a technical explanation of this, revealing — using a selection of examples — how the universe is elegantly designed and superbly coordinated, from the tiniest objects to the largest.

Note that there are 14 levels in the review below, each manifesting mutual interdependency, beginning with the smallest of items, the constituents of atoms, to the largest, the structures bigger than galaxies that form the vast Cosmic Web. Observe also how each of these items is connected like a neat "thread" running through a garment. — See also the article 'Multi-level Coordinated Planning'.

LEVEL 1

Quantum Forces and Gravity: The four fundamental forces — gravity, electromagnetism, the strong and weak nuclear forces — enable the conditions for matter to exist. (Technical note: Gravity is considered as a "force" in the general sense of the word.)

LEVEL 2
Subatomic Particles: Quarks combine to form protons and neutrons which, along with electrons and other components, give rise to atoms. Physicists refer to a "zoo" of particles at this level that are even today still being discovered.

LEVEL 3
Atoms: Hydrogen, the simplest atom, was formed in the early universe. Heavier elements like carbon, oxygen, and iron are synthesized in the hearts of stars through nuclear fusion.

LEVEL 4
Stars: Stars are born in stellar nurseries and depend on multiple laws and forces for their lifecycles, including the interplay of fusion, radiation pressure, gravity, magnetism, electric currents, magnetohydrodynamics, solar wind Interaction, etc.

LEVEL 5
Supernovae: Massive stars eventually explode as supernovae, dispersing essential heavier elements into space. These elements contribute to the building blocks for planets, moons, and life.

LEVEL 6
Planets: Earth’s formation depended on the aggregation of an unusually high quantity of heavy elements, creating layers (core, mantle, crust, etc.) and a magnetic field that shields the atmosphere. These elements are only formed in supernovae and neutron star collisions (events that are not present in our earth's "quiet" corner of the galaxy.)

LEVEL 7
Water and Chemical Complexity: Water is essential for the creation of complex molecules like amino acids, and is a vital substance for the sustenance of life on earth.

LEVEL 8
Molecules to Life: Macromolecules such as proteins and DNA, which are formed from specific amino acids, are among the building blocks of life.

LEVEL 9
Cells: Eukaryotic cells contain organelles (microscopic organic machines) like mitochondria (the powerhouses of the cell).

LEVEL 10
From Tissues to Organ Systems: Cells combine to form tissues; tissues combine to create organs and systems (like the circulatory and nervous systems) within an organism.

LEVEL 11
Ecosystems: Organisms interact in ecosystems, and the carbon cycle links life, oceans, and the atmosphere.

LEVEL 12
Earth’s Position: The planet’s position in the solar system (within the habitable zone) and the gravitational influences of Jupiter (to deflect asteroids), together with the solar system's location in a "quiet" section of our stable galaxy, are crucial for life’s continued sustainability.

LEVEL 13
The Solar System: Our solar system is part of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is influenced by the distribution of dark matter and the gravitational dance of nearby galaxies.

LEVEL 14
Cosmic Web: Galaxies themselves are interconnected by the filament-like structures of the Cosmic Web, shaped by dark matter and energy, and are balanced by the power of the black holes at their core.

This long chain of dependencies elegantly ties the grand design of the universe to the intricate details of molecular life — it's a testament to the complexity and interconnectivity of every item in creation. (See the article: 'Multi-level Coordinated Planning.')

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