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QUIZ & ANSWERS for: Irreducible Complexity and Biological Design

By: Michael Behe, Ph.D.

Short answer.
1. How many proteins participate in the bacterial flagellum?
2. What did Darwin say would show his theory to "absolutely break down"?
3. Why is irreducible complexity a problem for Darwinian evolution? Why does it point to intelligent design?
4. Why doesn't it help Darwinism if the parts of a biochemical machine previously had other roles in the cell?
5. Are biochemical machines with redundant components explainable by Darwinian evolution?

ANSWERS:
1. 30-40 separate proteins
2. If a structure could not be produced by "numerous, successive, slight modifications".
3. IC structures cannot be approached gradually. IC structures we know of are the product of intelligent design.
4. They still must be made to bind specifically to each other, so the problem of the irreducible complexity of the system remains.
5. While the redundant components might have arisen gradually, if the system contains non-redundant components, the problem of irreducible complexity remains.

Suggested Further Reading:
1. Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution.
2. Self-Organization and Irreducibly Complex Systems: A Reply to Shanks and Joplin in Philosophy of Science.
3. A Response to Critics of Darwin's Black Box.
4. Reply to My Critics: A Response to Reviews of Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution in Biology and Philosophy.
5. IDEA Center Advisory Board Member Michael Behe.



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