Hello,
I am recent de-convert from Christianity (what a relief). I have been spending the last few months watching videos on evolution and the evidence for it, trying to understand as much as I can.
I have one question that I am hoping someone can shed some light on, incase I might be missing something.
I've been seeing this argument by creationists that goes something along these lines: "mutations don't increase information in the genes, therefore mutation cannot account for an increase in complexity"
First off, I don't know a whole lot about genetics. But my understanding (correct me if I am wrong) is that our genes are a code, like a string of binary computer code. Each animal just has one permutation of all the possible values that string could take on. The purpose of the genetic code is that it represents the instructions on how to build and grow an animal. A mutation is like flipping one of the bits in a string of binary numbers, which will change the instructions, and produce a slightly different animal.
Mutations, as I understand it, don't "add or decrease information", they simply change the instructions. Different instructions produce different animals, some instructions produce simple animals (bacteria) other instructions produce complex animals (tigers).
Let's say I have the instructions for baking cookies, which can be thought of in terms of code, and each word or number is a unit that could "mutate". If I "mutate" the cups of flour in the instructions from 1 cup to 100 cups, I've got a larger batch of cookies (and, arguably, a more complex batch of cookies!). I haven't "added" or "subtracted" any words to the instructions, I've simply changed them, and the result became bigger / more complex.
Anyway, my point is to say that I really don't understand this concept of "mutations adding or decreasing information", I think it might be misrepresenting what mutation actually is, but I would like to know if I am on the right track here.
Thanks!
I am recent de-convert from Christianity (what a relief). I have been spending the last few months watching videos on evolution and the evidence for it, trying to understand as much as I can.
I have one question that I am hoping someone can shed some light on, incase I might be missing something.
I've been seeing this argument by creationists that goes something along these lines: "mutations don't increase information in the genes, therefore mutation cannot account for an increase in complexity"
First off, I don't know a whole lot about genetics. But my understanding (correct me if I am wrong) is that our genes are a code, like a string of binary computer code. Each animal just has one permutation of all the possible values that string could take on. The purpose of the genetic code is that it represents the instructions on how to build and grow an animal. A mutation is like flipping one of the bits in a string of binary numbers, which will change the instructions, and produce a slightly different animal.
Mutations, as I understand it, don't "add or decrease information", they simply change the instructions. Different instructions produce different animals, some instructions produce simple animals (bacteria) other instructions produce complex animals (tigers).
Let's say I have the instructions for baking cookies, which can be thought of in terms of code, and each word or number is a unit that could "mutate". If I "mutate" the cups of flour in the instructions from 1 cup to 100 cups, I've got a larger batch of cookies (and, arguably, a more complex batch of cookies!). I haven't "added" or "subtracted" any words to the instructions, I've simply changed them, and the result became bigger / more complex.
Anyway, my point is to say that I really don't understand this concept of "mutations adding or decreasing information", I think it might be misrepresenting what mutation actually is, but I would like to know if I am on the right track here.
Thanks!
