In an article yesterday, I described how engineer Dr. Stuart Burgess’s new book, Ultimate Engineering: How Human Biomechanics Reveals Intelligent Design, demonstrates that the evidence of perfection in the human body is best explained within a design framework. Here I will summarize two of the examples Burgess highlights that quantify the extent to which biology outclasses human engineering.
Joint Lubrication
Burgess details how the human knee joint greatly surpasses the performance of the most advanced prosthetic and robotic limbs. It employs an ingenious design that allows for a high load capacity and a large range of motion. In addition, the same structures perform multiple functions, allowing for the knee’s compact size and versatility. Achieving all these features “requires (1) a complex, fine-tuned geometry in the bones; (2) a sophisticated four-bar linkage system; and (3) a special meniscus structure between the femur and tibia.”
In addition, the longevity of knees results from synovial fluid lubricating the interfaces. This advanced fluid has a coefficient of friction far lower than anything engineers have ever devised. The friction in the knee joint may be as low as physically possible. Burgess describes the lubrication system as follows:
When joints experience short-term impact loads, during activities like running, the synovial fluid is trapped between the joint surfaces, leading to a squeeze-film effect that shields the surfaces from direct contact and acts as a shock absorber. In cases where the squeeze-film effect is insufficient for the impact, the surfaces are protected at the molecular level by the synovial fluid’s large protein molecules. Cartilage also plays a role in the lubrication system in the way it acts like a sponge in absorbing synovial fluid and releasing it when the joint becomes loaded. At present engineers cannot copy the synovial fluid system because of the complexity of the materials and molecular processes. Synovial fluid is, unquestionably, ultimate engineering.
The Brain and Nervous System
The superiority of the human brain to our technology is even more striking. Burgess quotes neurologists Peter Sterling and Simon Laughlin asking, “How can the brain be far smarter than a supercomputer yet consume 100,000-fold less space and energy?” Burgess then compares the intricate neural wiring to that of our most advanced technology:
It is impossible to comprehend the level of wiring detail. But to give some idea of its complexity, consider that a Boeing 747 jet has around 250 miles of wiring. That is a lot of wiring, but it’s dwarfed by the wiring in the human body, which has some 90,000 miles of wiring. Laid out end to end, that would stretch more than three times around the earth…. The nervous system’s 90,000 miles of wiring must be precisely integrated with all the other sub-systems of the body. One of the most common nerve pathways involves the motor nerves that travel from the brain to the many thousands of motor units in the body. As noted previously, the total number of motor units in a human body may exceed 100,000.
Burgess also explains how our body’s advanced control systems allow for a level of dexterity that greatly exceeds that of the most advanced robots:
One reason humans are so much more agile than robots is the body’s advanced sensing and control. Our bodies contain thousands of proprioceptors in the joints, which provide position and velocity information. This information is passed to the brain and processed with lightning speed in order to adjust muscle movements to produce stable and efficient action.
For example, when running on uneven ground, the ankles twist and turn, which could cause the body to topple over. But because of the advanced sensing and control system, the brain reacts rapidly to correct joint movements to prevent falls. The brain reacts so swiftly that it is possible to run in dark conditions on uneven ground and, with care and a bit of luck, to keep from falling. Such abilities are far beyond current robot designs.
The Implausibility of the Evolutionary Narrative
Dr. Burgess also explains how the perfection of the human body could not have arisen through an evolutionary process. The proposed ape-like ancestor of humans possessed limbs with distinctly different architectures. Transforming “ancestral” limbs and their control systems into the human versions would have required multiple highly coordinated alterations simultaneously. Intermediate forms with portions of two incompatible designs would have operated less effectively, resulting in the initial modifications quickly disappearing from the population (here, here, here).
The evolutionary explanation for the origin of the human brain is even more problematic. Our brains have tens of billions more neurons and tens of trillions more connections than other primates. Its architecture also differs dramatically to allow for advanced intelligence, language, and ability to manipulate tools with fine-grained control. Yet even one new targeted neural connection entails multiple specific mutations, while the arrival of only two coordinated mutations requires waiting over 100 million years (here, here, here).
The disconnect between the time available and that needed for evolution to modify the brain is so vast that embracing the evolutionary narrative requires one to abandon one’s belief in mathematics. Moreover, reading Ultimate Engineering and then obstinately ignoring the design implications comes close to deliberately suppressing the truth.