Brain Development and Faulty Evolutionary Logic

There is a formal logical fallacy known as affirming the consequent. If one condition is shown to be true, then what follows is also true: If it is raining, the grass will be wet. The grass is wet. Therefore, it is raining.

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If you noticed in the example, affirming the consequent also leaves out other possibilities such as neighbor kids having a water balloon fight, someone left on the sprinklers, and so on. One more: If it is snowing, it is cold outside. It is cold outside. Therefore, it is snowing.

The above error in reasoning was applied in a study of the development of the brains in mice and human babies. Human brains are all wrinkly. Actually, those are folds called convolutions. These give the brain more space in which to perform complex thinking, and critters have less of this folding or none at all. It was discovered that a specific gene that affects this folding is common to both humans and mice.

Purveyors of evoporn presupposed evolution, then saw commonality between us and mice. By studying mouse and human brain development, they can learn about evolution. I reckon that they are affirming the consequent. In the example regarding wet grass and rain, other possibilities to explain the wetness were not considered. Commonality of traits, genes, and so on are not evidence for evolution; they can just as easily be explained by the Master Engineer using similar traits in different organisms.

Human brains have the space to accommodate and process a great deal more information than the brains of animals because of the myriads of folds—called convolutions or gyrations — that increase the surface area of the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is the part of the brain responsible for cognitive functions, and experts believe the marked folding of the human cerebral cortex is what makes complex thinking possible. The brain is also folded in some mammalian animals but to a lesser degree than in humans. A study published in Cell reports that a protein produced in both mice and humans influences this process of gyrification (folding). Researchers believe their discovery could help explain the evolution of the human brain.

You won't strain your brain by reading the rest of this short article over at "Brain Convolutions in Mice and Men". Also for your consideration, "The Human Brain Testifies of Creation".