What does the term irreducible complexity mean?

What does the term irreducible complexity mean?

Irreducible complexity (IC) is the argument that certain biological systems cannot have evolved by successive small modifications to pre-existing functional systems through natural selection, because no less complex system would function.

What is a synonym for irreducible?

In this page you can discover 22 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for irreducible, like: invariant, incapable of being diminished, unchangeable, indestructible, imperishable, permanent, isomorphism, reducible, irreducibility, immutable and irrevocable.

What are 2 synonyms for complexity?

synonyms for complexity

  • complication.
  • intricacy.
  • ramification.
  • convolution.
  • elaboration.
  • entanglement.
  • involvement.
  • multiplicity.

Is irreducible complexity wrong?

Yet no true examples of irreducible complexity have ever been found. The concept is rejected by the majority of the scientific community. To understand why, it is important to remember that Behe’s main argument is that in an irreducibly complex system, every part is vital to the system’s overall operation.

Is the eye an example of irreducible complexity?

The eye is an oft-cited example of irreducible complexity because at first brush it seems too complicated to have any of the intermediate stages required for evolution.

What does Reducibility mean?

adjective. capable of being reduced. Mathematics. of or relating to a polynomial that can be factored into the product of polynomials, each of lower degree.

What is the synonym word of complex?

Some common synonyms of complex are complicated, intricate, involved, and knotty.

What did Darwin say about irreducible complexity?

“If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down,” Darwin wrote. Yet no true examples of irreducible complexity have ever been found.

Is a mousetrap irreducibly complex?

Because the mousetrap is necessarily composed of several parts, it is irreducibly complex.” (Behe, 1996).

Why is irreducible complexity wrong?

Irreducible complexity Every part of an irreducibly complex system is necessary: take away even one, and the entire system will no longer work. Because their parts are so intricate and so interdependent, such systems could not possibly have been the result of evolution, ID supporters argue.

Are there any examples of irreducible complexity?

Blood clotting cascade. The process of blood clotting or coagulation cascade in vertebrates is a complex biological pathway which is given as an example of apparent irreducible complexity.

  • Cilium motion.
  • Bombardier beetle’s defense mechanism.
  • What does irreducible mean?

    irreducible – incapable of being made smaller or simpler; “an irreducible minimum”; “an irreducible formula”; “an irreducible hernia”. reducible – capable of being reduced; “reducible to a set of principles of human nature”- Edmund Wilson .

    What is the definition of specified complexity?

    Specified complexity is a concept proposed by William Dembski and used by him and others to promote the pseudoscientific arguments of intelligent design. According to Dembski, the concept can formalize a property that singles out patterns that are both specified and complex, where in Dembski’s terminology, a specified pattern is one that admits short descriptions, whereas a complex pattern is one that is unlikely to occur by chance.