Variety as Evidence for Intelligent Creation?

[Reading Time: ~9 minutes]

How does variety help support the idea of intelligent creation?

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[Click here to read Part 1.]

When I see the world and all that goes on in nature, I don't see randomness or nothingness; I see purpose, design, intelligence, emotion, even creativity. So many discoveries, ideas, all sorts of amazing things in this green earth that people often take for granted. So much has been put into our world that we may not even realize, even some possible answers that can arrive from close observation.

And all these things point to intelligent creation.

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[PART TWO: Variety as Evidence for Intelligent Creation]

Part One describes how everything in nature, even without human intervention, has a natural purpose to benefit and support life, which cannot be granted by randomness or nothingness. Now let's consider how variety plays a role as an extension of purpose, which also cannot be explained by randomness or nothingness.

Everything we see has a natural blueprint. Every natural basic feature given to humans, every animal according to their kind, even plants, have a purpose.

One look at ourselves and we can see the natural function of our body parts: eyes for seeing, ears for hearing, nose for smelling and breathing, mouth for vocalizing, tongue for tasting, teeth for chewing, hands for touching and holding, limbs for reaching, elbows and knees for bending, feet for moving...

Everything from our senses, organs, digestive and reproductive systems, everything that naturally takes place inside our bodies... Such natural features allow life to function for both survival and serving their natural purpose.

But it goes even further than that. Not only do we have features that are functional, those features also come in so much variety. The existence of such variety of features and characteristics may not necessarily or entirely have a clear-cut explanation in regards to mere survival.

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We have so many different kinds of creatures and plants, each with their own function and purpose. We can see and identify the obvious differences between a dog, a butterfly, and a bird. We know that they are three distinct living creatures.

But we don't just have birds; we have a variety of species of birds, some large, some small, different colors, beaks, wingspans, vocals; the difference between a finch, a parrot, and an eagle.

We don't just have butterflies; we have a variety of butterflies that we can identify according to their wingspans, shapes, patterns, colors, even larvae. Even down to the difference between a monarch and painted lady.

We don't just have dogs; we have Labradors, poodles, Pomeranians, German shepherds, chihuahuas, pugs, pit bulls, collies... A number of creatures that share their natural purpose but appear in a variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and other features. Floppy ears, pointed ears, short hair, thick hair, long snouts, short snouts, small enough to fit in one's purse or large enough to pin you to the ground. Even the same kind of Pomeranian can come in orange and white fur or even all black fur.

And we don't just have trees; we have oaks, birches, palms, elms, so on and so forth...many that produce their own kind of seed, fruit and flowers. And we don't just have flowers; we have roses, lilies, gardenias, petunias, tulips, jasmine, orchids... Even their species have subspecies, sharing families and traits and functions, yet each carrying their own unique features. The difference between daisies and sunflowers and chrysanthemums. Even the same kind of rose comes in red, pink, yellow, white...

Our world perhaps could have only needed a select number of kinds of creatures and plants and things to sustain life and provide all our needs. But instead the world has so much and so many different things that exist, each so colorful, interesting, and visually distinct.

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Unlike animals and plants, which typically create offspring that are identical or near-identical according to their species' blueprints (hence why a rose is a rose), humans carry a variety of genetics so far and wide that human children don't necessarily become exact replicas of their parents or relatives (though they may carry similarities from both sides of their family due to those genetics). Some appear very similar while others look so different that it's difficult to tell they're even related. Yet each and every one is still fully human, not a "species" of human.

With billions of humans on the planet, we can find so much diversity and variety of genetics, countless combinations of features that make every human unique in their own way, but the most telling may be our unique fingerprints. No two humans are perfectly alike, not even sharing the exact same fingerprints; yes, even identical twins have different fingerprints.

Why does every human have unique fingerprints? What purpose would that serve outside of the ability to identify each individual or solve a CSI mystery?

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Genetics can perhaps explain how such variety exists, but it cannot explain why they exist, why all those different visuals and variations are possible in the first place. They cannot explain the existence of the ability to have so much diversity.

Such differences and variety in features could perhaps serve a purpose in terms of survival in some cases (such as how some creatures have natural camouflage, or how we can identify certain traits like venomous vs non-venomous), but to an extent. The bright colors of the poison dart frog may perhaps signal that they're poisonous, but why are there even so many different colors for the same kind of frog? Even if there's a biological reason for it, why are they possible at all?

And butterfly wings come in a number of different colors and patterns, yet why do all of them exist? And why do they all look so distinct, standing out like fluttering works of art?

Why are cats able to exist in so many different fur colors and patterns (short hair, thick hair, tabby stripes, calico spots, black, white, Russian blue...), different colored eyes (yellow, blue, green...), facial structures (flat, round, triangular...), and other genetic features? Why are they all possible?

Humans come in a variety of skin tones, hair colors, eye colors, nose shapes, feet size, jaw shapes, body shapes, etc. Then we have traits like earlobes, widow's peak, hitchhiker's thumb, the ability to roll the tongue or wiggle the ears... Why do such genetics exist at all?

One might suggest that the ability to find certain visuals appealing could affect survival in terms of marriage candidates and the passing of genes, but humans can defy this notion, and the existence of so much variety also challenges this. No one can tell another person that the best marriage candidate has to have blond hair and blue eyes and an hourglass body. Humans have the ability to choose and look at other qualities such as how well they get along and what values they have in common. Yet no two couples may necessarily seek the exact same set of qualities to find their ideal "match", because many sorts of personalities and qualities exist.

So why do we have so much variety? If such variety in itself doesn't necessarily affect survival rate, then why would they be needed?

Thing is, randomness or nothingness cannot explain this either, because even the variety of life in itself is still functional and purposeful. Plus, if you tried to imagine existence at the roll of the dice, what are the odds of rolling the perfect numbers needed to have fully functional life covering the necessities to sustain life and keep it going? Or the perfect symmetry of butterfly wings? Or the perfect geometry of a spider's web? Or the care and craft a bird puts into making its nest? Such purposeful designs, even with so much variety, challenge the notion of randomness or nothingness.

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But what if we decide to look at this from another angle...

What else may perhaps help explain the reason for such variety of features? Pleasure. The ability to enjoy.

Think about the mind of an artist/designer and why one can create a number of things with their own set of subjectivity. How are we humans able to interpret or understand the concept of art at all? Why are we able to find certain things visually pleasing? Outside of freewill, why do we have the ability to form an opinion or process ideas subjectively? Why should we?

Not everything we're able to perceive has to do with mere survival. Because there are so many things that we can enjoy about life, even small, this shows us that there is more to life than just existing...

Life is also a gift.

The ability to enjoy and find many different things interesting and appealing adds something extra to our existence; things that may perhaps be optional, and yet enjoyable. So many different plants and their array of colors create such breathtaking scenery. So many different creatures that make life so curious and fascinating. And look at all the choices of food we have, and so much variety of fruit and crop, each with their own flavors that our tongues pick up on. Sometimes it reminds us to slow down and appreciate all that we have. Such appreciation for the unique wonders of our world can also help our emotional health and our outlook on life.

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Consider what the existence of variety and diversity is doing; we can see that it makes life more interesting. If everything looked exactly the same, plastered in one color (or no color at all), did the exact same things, even sounded exactly the same... Would we still find it all interesting? An artist/designer creates many different things, because there is something to enjoy in creating, seeing many sorts of things come to life, and everything naturally adds to the beauty of life itself.

We could exist to enjoy the exact same things, but our freewill gives us the ability to choose and experience different things, well, differently. We each have a unique set of preferences to enjoy from, a variety of options available to us.

At the same time, consider the natural consequences: because our options are open, we wouldn't necessarily have to create conflict over possession of certain things when we have a Plan B, especially in cases when resources are sufficient. Having numerous options can potentially allow for healthy compromise.

But we also have to consider balance and rationality. We cannot exist only for the sake of pleasure, else we'd ignore our responsibility to sustain life as well as live out our purpose. It also makes a difference the kinds of things we choose to enjoy and the extent that we enjoy them, else we also fail to live responsibly and reach our potential in life.

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When we consider the mind of an artist/designer/inventor and the thought process behind creating something, and the natural appeal that comes from creating, one can look at the world around them and see how creating is in itself essential and a part of life. It takes both logic and creativity to form the blueprints that make our world alive, qualities that cannot be due to randomness or nothingness.

The world is just too diverse, too interesting to exist by mere coincidence.

[To be continued...?]

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Author's Notes:

Here is what may become a possible series of articles regarding evidence for intelligent creation, explored from an observational perspective. This is not to force anyone to come to one conclusion but rather to encourage people to think about life from a perspective perhaps not yet considered.

Cover image courtesy of rawpixel.

(Written on May 14, 2019.)

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