Chaos and Order: Living on the Edge

This introduction to the concept of biological complexity demystifies and debunks the argument of Paley that a complex watch is compelling evidence requiring a (complex) watchmaker (designer or creator). It employs a mathematical exercise to demonstrate this, involving a randomizing component (a die), and a simple mathematical rule (the non-random component), resulting in the repeated plotting of points. Repeated cycles eventually produce an orderly pattern. Students will learn that simple rules, acting on random events can easily produce complex, seemingly designed patterns.