Engineered Nanobot Evolution
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen
A few months back, I took some inspiration from a 1989 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that tied in with a previous post on gene editing ethics (see "Science Fiction and Genetic Engineering"). While taking a break from serious stuff on my Roku device, it happened again.
A few months back, I took some inspiration from a 1989 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that tied in with a previous post on gene editing ethics (see "Science Fiction and Genetic Engineering"). While taking a break from serious stuff on my Roku device, it happened again.
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| Fun fact: the Angry Picard "meme" is from a segment where he was quoting Shakespeare |
I had to turn the dial on my suspension of disbelief gadget up to eleven because the show was saturated with evolutionary propaganda that ran contrary to what I have learned about both creation and evolution. Speaking of which, the episode is simply titled "Evolution" and it involved nanotechnology. Although it does not actually exist yet in any practical sense, research is happening. Nanites (nanobots, nanomachines, and other names) are supposedly one billionth of a meter in size. If they are developed, nanomachines could be extremely important in medical science. Anyone who watches or reads science fiction has probably encountered stories involving nanobots.
In the story, two nanites escaped and somehow found their way into the warp core of the Enterprise. They began to replicate and adapt to their environment, and their feeding for further development and replication endangered the ship. Some folks didn't take too kindly to the disruptions and wanted them eliminated. But whoa there, Hoss! These critters are evolving. Yup, evolution. Isn't evolution wonderful? (Our television franchise loves promoting evolution, don'tcha know.) They have evolved into a new, intelligent life form in just a few hours. Isn't evolution wonderful? So, we can't kill them off since they're a newly-evolved life form. Evolution.
Except that it wasn't evolution.
It occurred to me that this 1989 story was indirectly illustrating some of the points of the engineered adaptability concept proposed by the Institute for Creation Research in 2013-2014. This creation model is contrary to how Darwin and his acolytes hijacked natural selection and other concepts. They insist on outside "environmental pressures" to cause evolution, but the opposite is true. Specifically, the Master Engineer designed living things to adapt and even anticipate changes, whether on an individual basis or even entire populations.
That's what happened in the story. There was no blind, purposeless molecules-to-machine evolution going on. These nanites were following their programming, adapting and changing. This television show illustrates something that we see so frequently riding the Creation Trail: owlhoots are so enthusiastic in their adoration of Darwin that they "see" evolution where none exists. The adaptation through design was misnamed in the show, and it is misnamed in science today. A huge amount of effort is involved in denying the creator in evolutionary thinking.
Excuse me now. I have to replace my suspension of disbelief gadget. That silly program burned it out.
In the story, two nanites escaped and somehow found their way into the warp core of the Enterprise. They began to replicate and adapt to their environment, and their feeding for further development and replication endangered the ship. Some folks didn't take too kindly to the disruptions and wanted them eliminated. But whoa there, Hoss! These critters are evolving. Yup, evolution. Isn't evolution wonderful? (Our television franchise loves promoting evolution, don'tcha know.) They have evolved into a new, intelligent life form in just a few hours. Isn't evolution wonderful? So, we can't kill them off since they're a newly-evolved life form. Evolution.
Except that it wasn't evolution.
It occurred to me that this 1989 story was indirectly illustrating some of the points of the engineered adaptability concept proposed by the Institute for Creation Research in 2013-2014. This creation model is contrary to how Darwin and his acolytes hijacked natural selection and other concepts. They insist on outside "environmental pressures" to cause evolution, but the opposite is true. Specifically, the Master Engineer designed living things to adapt and even anticipate changes, whether on an individual basis or even entire populations.
That's what happened in the story. There was no blind, purposeless molecules-to-machine evolution going on. These nanites were following their programming, adapting and changing. This television show illustrates something that we see so frequently riding the Creation Trail: owlhoots are so enthusiastic in their adoration of Darwin that they "see" evolution where none exists. The adaptation through design was misnamed in the show, and it is misnamed in science today. A huge amount of effort is involved in denying the creator in evolutionary thinking.
Excuse me now. I have to replace my suspension of disbelief gadget. That silly program burned it out.