creation

Microcomputers in the Brain Tabulate Design

Posted on by Shannon

by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

I’m typing this article on a personal computer. You are most likely reading it on some form of one, whether a desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet (which are really just small computers). These amazing devices are all around us. Brilliant researchers have spent billions of dollars designing the most functional computers to help people all over the world achieve their goals. You may well know, however, that one computer is more powerful than any that humans have been able to design—the human brain. As LiveScience writer Charles Choi stated, “The most powerful computer known is the brain” (2013).

But a fresh look into the brain has revealed something amazing. This supercomputer is even more “super” than we thought. Inside the brain are short branches of cells called dendrites. These dendrites have long been thought to be simple transporters of nerve signals to brain neurons. Recent discoveries by neuroscientist Spencer Smith and his team of researchers suggest, however, that dendrites do more than passively transfer information (Choi, 2013). It appears that dendrites are actually minicomputers that process information instead of simply transferring it. Because of this discovery, Smith stated: “Suddenly, it’s as if the processing power of the brain is much greater than we had originally thought” (as quoted in Choi, 2013).

To what did Smith compare this remarkable discovery? He illustrated the results in this way: “Imagine you’re reverse engineering a piece of alien technology, and what you thought was simple wiring turns out to be transistors that compute information” (as quoted in Choi, 2013).

The implication of Smith’s statement about alien technology could not be clearer—the brain is comparable to (but surpasses) any technology humans have designed. Therefore, if we were to realistically compare it to something, it would have to be technology produced by brilliant aliens whose mental capabilities must be far superior to that of humans. But wait, the technology that we at first recognized to be superior, we discover to be even more advanced than we originally thought. What does that say about the brain? It must have been designed by a Being with incomprehensible intelligence. The idea of mindless evolution simply cannot account for the computer, no, the supercomputer filled with minicomputers, we call the brain. It really is a no-brainer, there must be a God.

From Apologetics Press www.apologeticspress.org

God’s Exhibit

Posted on by Shannon

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Thy name in all the earth, who has displayed Thy splendor above the heavens!” (Ps.8:1)

In 1851 the first world’s fair opened in London, England, by Queen Victoria and her husband Albert. It was housed in a huge glass structure known as “The Crystal Palace.” European nations were invited to display their industry and technology, but England made sure they stole the show by cramming it with their own things. Almost a third of the population of England attended it. The following year, all its contents were transferred to a new site which eventually developed into the Victoria and Albert Museum. Expanded for over a century, it now covers over 12 acres of galleries displaying the glories of the Victorian age. Every country likes to have a place to show off its accomplishments.

The great God of the universe has likewise given us a marvelous display of his power and glory. It’s not housed in any great building on earth, but above us in the universe He created. Provided the sky is clear, you can see it every night by viewing the stars and galaxies that surround us. David, who wrote Psalm 8, was once a shepherd who worked in the pastures of Israel and often marveled at the night sky. With no lights to interfere, it must have been an amazing sight. This is how he knew God is real, for it is His exhibit for man to examine.

What do we learn from the stars? Some people look at the universe for scientific reasons alone, ignoring its maker. That’s like examining things in a museum and failing to notice the greatness of a nation. The stars teach us that God is powerful, organized, greater than all things, that man is so small, and, amazingly, that He looks after man. God intended the heavens to be a wonderful display of who He is.

I hope you get to go outside on a clear summer night and see God’s display.

– Tim Johnson

Robots and the Human Brain

Posted on by Shannon

Recently a hotel in Japan opened up with robots for its staff. Guest still have to register using an in-house computer, but the check-in robot lady talks to people about when breakfast will be served, and other details. A cart-like robot takes suitcases up to rooms, and a coat-room robot stores people’s garments. The hotel is a novelty, but its owners are genuinely trying to save money by not having to hire human staff. While the whole concept is amazing, the abilities of robots still don’t match what a human being can do.

Here are seven facts about the human brain as designed by God:

1. No one knows for sure, but the latest estimate is that our brains contain roughly 86 billion brain cells.

2. More than 100,000 chemical reactions take place in your brain every second.

3. Brain information moves anywhere between 1 mph and an impressive 268 miles per hour. This is faster than Formula 1 race cars which top out at 240 mph.

4. The brain produces as many as 12,000 to 50,000 thoughts per day, depending on how deep a thinker a person is.

5. Babies have big heads to hold rapidly growing brains. A 2-year-old’s brain is 80% of adult size.

6. Your brain’s storage capacity is considered virtually unlimited. It doesn’t get “used up” like memory in your computer.

7. Best of all, a human brain is free. One comes with each baby at birth.

While man has been able to invent some amazing robots, they depend on a costly army of designers, maintenance people, parts, and programmers. The human brain speaks eloquently of the greatness of God.

David expressed it very well in Psalm 139:14, “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.”

– Tim Johnson

Dust

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Dr. Edwin Slessor said, “The greatest miracle of the Bible is its chemical accuracy.” The Book of Genesis says, “The Lord formed man of the dust of the earth.” (Gen.2:7) This statement is literally true.

In the general area where the beginning of civilization is thought to have taken place, a soil sample consists of 16 different chemical elements. All these are found in the body of man. How could the writers Moses, Job and David have known this? Yet before the science of chemistry was born this truth was declared as a fact. Christians have no difficulty believing these Bible writers were inspired by God. Continue reading →

A Descendant of Eve?

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The scientific world was buzzing this week as the ancient bones of up to 15 skeletons were put on display at a South African university. Discovered in an almost inaccessible cave system requiring people to slither through tunnels no larger than 10 inches, the bones were removed and reassembled for study. Attending scientists believe the remains are that of man’s early ancestors, a branch of the human evolutionary tree, and named it “Homo Naledi.”

The strange thing about the skeletons is that they are ape-like in many ways (small brain, large shoulders, etc.), but also display human-like features. Some believe the skeletons are an ancient burial chamber. Early guesses peg the age of the bones anywhere from 10,000 years old to several million. Many newspapers and magazines are over the top with excitement, hinting that the theory of human evolution is further confirmed. Continue reading →