In doing research for my next proof for God, I came across a
quote that blew me away. I had never heard any detail like this about the
retina of your eye, even though I had already written one Proof for God about
the Eye (#45) [a]
As you know, the retina of your eye is the part that allows
you to be able to see this page or anything else. It is full of nerve cells
that convert light into electrical and chemical signals that are sent to the
brain down the optic nerve.
Your retina is thinner than Saran Wrap, by the way.
I find what it does really hard to imagine. Here is the
quote:
"To simulate 10 milliseconds
of the complete processing of even a single nerve cell from the retina would
require the solution of about 500 simultaneous non-linear differential
equations one hundred times and would take at least several minutes of
processing time on a Cray supercomputer. Keeping in mind there are 10 million
or more such cells interacting with each other in complex ways, it would take a
minimum of a hundred years of Cray time to simulate what takes place in your
eye many times every second." [b]
You could quibble and say that this is an old quote, which
it is, from about 1985. But even given that computers are a lot faster now, it
would still take a super computer (like big in size and needing lots of power)
to do what your tiny little retina is doing every second, in each eye of
course.
Researchers at UC Berkeley discovered that our retinas form
a stack of 10 to 12 different image representations of what we view by using
"cross-talk" between different layers of cells in the retina. The
images are not very good quality. But they are all sent to the brain and the
brain assembles them into the wonderful images we experience. [c]
No person in their right mind who knows what a computer chip
is would ever proclaim that it could have evolved. Yet some very sane people
refuse to see that there was any super intelligence behind the formation of a
retina that is vastly superior to any computer chip. And retinas have been
around for millions of years.
“The retinal rods and cones are
composed of various layers. The human rods have a dynamic range of about 10
billion-to-one. In other words, when fine-tuned for high gain amplification (as
when you are out on a dark night and there is only starlight), your
photoreceptors can pick up a single photon. Phenomenal sensitivity! Of course
the retina does a number of processing tricks on that just to make sure it is
not picking up noise, so you don't see static; it really wants at least six
receptors in the same area to pick up the same signal before it
"believes" that it is true and sends it to the brain. In bright
daylight the retina bleaches out and the volume control turns way down for,
again, admirable performance.” [d]
Take note that your retina can pick up a single photon of
light. That’s how sensitive it is. But just to be sure there are no mistaken
electrical impulses sent to the brain, the retina makes sure by checking around
and only sending a signal if six photoreceptors all pick up the same thing.
A retina that sensitive if exposed to sunlight would get
totally bleached out and you wouldn’t be able to see anything. However, your
retina is able to adjust to major changes in the amount of light. Imagine how
that could possibly evolve. And remember, all this ability is contained in
something thinner than Saran Wrap. Note also that the retina is transparent
(you can see right through it).
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Just about everything
about your retina is a profound miracle.
Think some more about a computer chip when compared to your
retina. Remember that the computer chip was absolutely designed by some very
smart people. The retina only occupies 0.0003 cubic inches of space and the
power consumption of the retina is about 0.001 watts. The retina has a
resolution of about 10,000 by 10,000 pixels. It has about 25 billion equivalent
"gates" in it that are like the transistors in a computer chip.
Other parts of the retina are equally miraculous. There are
three layers of cells on the back of the retina: the Retinal Pigment
Epithelium, the choroid, and the sclera. The Retinal Pigment Epithelium is a
multifunctional and indispensable structure. The RPE is a single-cell-thick
tissue layer consisting of relatively uniform polygonal-shaped cells. These
cells touch the extremities of the rods and the cones (the photoreceptors) with
dense microvilli and basal membrane infoldings.
Posterior to the RPE is the vascular choroid layer which is
filled with blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrition, and remove waste.
“The structure of the choroid is
generally divided into four layers (classified in order of furthest away from
the retina to closest):
1. Haller's layer - outermost layer
of the choroid consisting of larger diameter blood vessels.
2. Sattler's layer - layer of
medium diameter blood vessels.
3. Choriocapillaris - layer of
capillaries.
4. Bruch's membrane - innermost
layer of the choroid.” [e]
So your retina has small blood vessels, medium sized, and
also larger blood vessels. These are all necessary for the correct functioning
of the eye. It’s incomprehensible that this emerged by evolution in a slow and
gradual process. The fossil record constantly shows only animals that have
fully formed eyes.
Posterior to that is another layer of connective tissue known as the sclera.
Posterior to that is another layer of connective tissue known as the sclera.
Evolutionists like Richard Dawkins, Kenneth Miller, Daniel
Dennett, and others have claimed that Evolution is proved because the retina of
the eye is backwards. They say this is a “poor design” because the rods and
cones are facing away from the direction where light comes from. The retina was
even called “functionally stupid”. Their “proof” is that they know better how
the retina should be correctly designed and we would have better vision if our
eyes were like squid eyes. Since it’s a “poor design”, it must have evolved
because they know if there were a God, He would not have done it that way. He
would have done it their way.
A “flawed design” is their evidence against a creator God
and an argument for a random process of mutation.
So, what if scientists, upon further research, can prove it
is not a flawed design but actually the best possible engineering? Could we then
proclaim that there is a God? Would the atheists be forced to change their
minds?
Well, as it turns out many researchers have discovered that
the design of the retina is actually the best design and that there is no
evidence that the Evolutionists’ idea of the “best” design would even work at
all.
I’m not going to spend a lot more time on this, but I want
to point you to a fantastic technical paper that goes into all the details of
why the design we have is perfect. If you are interested, read the article: “Why
the Inverted Human Retina Is a Superior Design” by Jerry Bergman and
Joseph Calkins. [f]
Here is a short list of some of the reasons why the design
of our human retina is actually the best design and was clearly designed by an
all knowing intelligence.
1. Rods and Cones
need a lot of blood. Rods and cones require a greater blood supply than any
other bodily tissue. They require close contact with blood in order to receive
oxygen and nutrients. Waste products need to be carried away. Vision actually
happens because chemical reactions are taking place and sending signals to the
brain. Heat is being generated that needs to be cooled by the blood. Photopigments
constantly have to be replaced and recycled. Rods and cones (photoreceptors)
get used up and have to replace themselves about every 7 days or so. [g]
2. Best location of
blood supply. If the retina were designed in the opposite way, where would
the blood supply be? You can’t put it in front of the rods and cones. If you
put it along the sides, it would take up too much space and reduce the number
of rods and cones. That would cause poorer vision.
3. Need opaque layer
to absorb excess light. The rods and cones need to be close to a dark
surface to absorb stray light. Otherwise, reflecting light would distort our
vision. The Retinal Pigment Epithelium provides that dark surface.
4. Retinal Pigment Epithelium needed. This
layer of cells produces critical enzymes for vision. It also stores Vitamin A
for regeneration. The RPE also helps maintain water and ion flow between the
neural retina and the choroid, protects against free radical damage, and
regulates retinoid metabolism. It is also a barrier to protect the inner parts
of the eye.
5. Retina should not
be more sensitive than it is. As I mentioned above, the retina can recognize
a single photon of light. You cannot get any better than that. Our retina works
better than any other design. If there were somehow greater sensitivity, you
might see “too much” and get blinded. It might be helpful at night, but not at
all during the day. It would cause more eye damage too. Why do you think people
wear sunglasses?
6. Müller
cells. Recent research has discovered Müller cells in the
retina. They are actually like funnels that help carry the light through the
retina so it is less distorted. They have the perfect index of refraction to
transmit the light with minimum loss and distortion. It’s like God invented
fiber optic cables thousands of years ago. How about that for design?
7. Light does not get blocked. Amazingly, very
little light is actually blocked by the part of the retina the light encounters
first. This is the transparent layer of many nerve cells leading to the optic
nerve and then the brain. Normal nerve cells are covered with a substance
called myelin. But the nerve cells in the retina do not have this covering
which would have blocked some of the light. Also the larger blood vessels and
nerves inside the eye travel around but not over the area where your focused
vision takes place. What a good design.
8. Waste must be carried away. There are waste
products from the chemical reactions as well as the dying rods and cones. If
the rods and cones faced the front, all the garbage would accumulate inside
your eye. The result of that is obvious.
9. Fast recycle time. You know if you
drive at night and look into the oncoming headlights you are temporarily
blinded. The close blood supply allows a relatively fast recycle time. If your
rods and cones faced the other way, you’d be temporarily blinded much longer.
10. Color and much greater detail than squid eyes. Research on squid
eyes shows they can perceive shape, light intensity, and texture, but any
details are seriously lacking. Squid have only 20 million receptor cells in
their retina, whereas humans have 126 million. Squid have only rods, whereas
humans have rods and three types of cones, allowing us to see the whole color
spectrum. [h]
11. Momentary shadows are a good thing. It turns out that
the light having to pass through various cells before getting to the rods and
cones is a good thing. Constant light would bleach out the rods and cones, but
the momentary darkness gives them a break and allows them to regenerate. Think
again about sun glasses.
So we can now
conclude that there is no “poor design” here at all. In fact, the design is so magnificent
it is beyond our understanding.
There must be God.
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[a] Stephens, James, Proof for God #45 The EYE, http://101proofsforgod.blogspot.com/2013/11/45-eye.html
[b] Stevens, John K., Associate Professor of physiology and
biomedical engineering, “Reverse Engineering the Brain,” Byte, April 1985, p.
287. http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3384
[c] Sanders, Robert, Media Relations, UC Berkeley, March
2001, "Eye strips images of all but bare essentials before sending visual
information to brain", http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2001/03/28_wers1.html
[d] Calkins, Joseph, “Design in the Human Eye”, http://www.creationmoments.com/content/design-human-eye
[e] Wikipedia, "Choroid", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choroid
[f] Bergman, Jerry and Calkins, Joseph, Creation Research
Society Quarterly, "Why the Inverted Human Retina Is a Superior
Design", https://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/45/45_3/CRSQ%20Winter%2009%20Retina.pdf
[g] Bergman, Jerry and Calkins, Joseph, Creation Research
Society Quarterly, "Why the Inverted Human Retina Is a Superior
Design", https://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/45/45_3/CRSQ%20Winter%2009%20Retina.pdf
[h] Bergman, Jerry and Calkins, Joseph, Creation Research
Society Quarterly, "Why the Inverted Human Retina Is a Superior
Design", https://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/45/45_3/CRSQ%20Winter%2009%20Retina.pdf
