Book Review:
Nature’s IQ: Extraordinary Animal Behaviors that Defy Evolution
Reviewed by Lori Erbs
Why do arctic terns fly 22,000 miles
each year? How can a fish have both eyes on the same side of its body?
What is the meaning of the complex patterns of dances performed by
honeybees?
The answers
to these questions and many more are shared in a virtual odyssey into the
kingdom of nature entitled Nature’s IQ: Extraordinary Animal Behaviors
that Defy Evolution (Torchlight Publishing, Inc. 2009). Released
just after the 200th Anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday, this English
translation from the original Hungarian edition will delight inquisitive children,
wizened sages, the young at heart, nature lovers, and Intelligent Design
theorists alike. The authors, István Tasi (aka Isvara Krsna
das), a Cultural Anthropologist and Theologian, and Balázs Hornyánszky
(aka Bhagavat-priya das), a Bioengineer, present case after compelling case
supporting their thesis that Darwinian Evolution is not a logical sequitur
of intricate and idiosyncratic animal behaviors but rather, natural intelligence
reflects a supreme intelligence and designer. Richly illustrated, offering
200 exquisitely color plates, this 160-page hardbound book scintillates with
detail, intrigue, and wit, beckoning the curious reader onward into ensuing
vignettes sparkling with enigmatic adventures of mysterious living entities.
A summary
of “Darwin’s frogs” is given on pages 122-123:
Darwin himself discovered the
frog in Chile (Rhinoderma darwinii). After female Darwin’s frogs lay their
eggs on wet beaches, males sense the scent of the eggs and fertilize them.
They then station themselves beside the eggs in groups and guard them for
about twenty days. When the developing eggs begin to move in their tiny, jelly-like
globules, the males lean over to them and gulp—they seemingly eat them! Of
course, they do not eat the eggs but instead place them with their tongue
into their long expandable vocal pouch, situated in the lower part of ther
body. The eggs continue to develop in the vocal pouch until one day the male
suddenly yawns widely, and the fully developed baby frogs jump out of his
mouth….
…For viable offspring to hatch,
the frog father must know that he has to keep an eye on the eggs. Furthermore,
he has to have the instincts commanding the right behavior: when the young
are about to hatch, he has to get them into his specially structured vocal
pouch. And when they are fully developed, he has to set them free. If any
of these elements were missing, the frog’s reproduction would be unsuccessful.
Therefore, it is inconceivable that the Darwin’s frog and its special way
of reproduction came into existence step by step, as a result of small changes….It
is inconceivable that this frog species, with its specialized behavior, came
into existence by a sudden large-scale mutation….The chance mutation of these
genes causing a series of concerted, appropriate behaviors would be more than
a miracle.
This
excerpt provides one example of the methodology employed in analyzing and
diffusing evolution theory in terms of reproduction and survival of offspring.
Other sections cover predation, defense, symbiosis, animal communication,
navigation, and mating behaviors.
The final
chapter, entitled “The Source of Intelligence,” presents an alternative explanation
referred to as “inverse evolution” from the Vedic ontology:
The Vedic
account of the origin of species has three main principles: existence of a
supreme person, living beings on other planets with special creative and multiplication
abilities, and descent by modification.
The authors
assert that incredible behavioral complexity, species diversity, amazing instinctual
intelligence, and symbiotic relationships of living entities emanate from
the source of all created beings, the Godhead, as described in elaborate
detail throughout the voluminous ancient scriptures of East India. They conclude
that “In reality, nature’s IQ is the creator’s IQ.”
Employing
a distinctly innovative approach, Nature’s IQ offers original
and valuable insights for the Intelligent Design community; however, Charles
Darwin’s followers might also find it interesting!
Nature’s IQ website: http://www.naturesiq.com
To order this book please visit:
http://www.mcremo.com/order.htm