Episode 36 - Darwin's Beetle - Referring to the Unknown

Introduction: The Story of the Khunfushar

Peace be upon you. It is said that a man dressed in the garb of scholars came to a village and said to the people, "Ask me whatever you wish, and I will answer you." Indeed, no question was asked that he did not answer in detail, to the extent that people began to doubt that he was fabricating any answer he gave.

So they said, "Come, let us ask him about something hypothetical that we invent, and let's call it the khunfushar." They went to him and said, "O noble scholar, what do you say about the khunfushar?" He replied, "Yes, the khunfushar is a plant that grows on the edges of the mountains of Yemen. If camels eat it, their milk curdles. Even the great Yemeni poet said: 'Your love has tied my heart as the khunfushar ties the milk.'"

Who could prove the error of this sheikh's khunfushar theory? Who could go to all the edges of the mountains of Yemen and prove that the khunfushar does not exist? Who could deny that this name, which the people of the village invented, actually exists by chance?

I have not told anyone this story except that they laughed. Strangely, many read a very similar story and do not laugh. It is the story of Darwin in his book "On the Origin of Species" under the title: "On the Imperfection of the Geological Record." Follow with us. (Music)

Darwin's Khunfushar: The Imperfection of the Fossil Record

Darwin claimed that his theory requires the appearance of types of creatures gradually and very slowly, and that the layers of the earth are filled with an innumerable number of transitional creatures. And I say "claimed" because we have detailed in the episode "Who Stole the Million?" that the phrase "innumerable" is inadequate to describe the imaginary, astronomical number that would result without a creature turning into another creature.

In any case, let us assume that it is possible for an innumerable number of transitional creatures to realize Darwin's fantasies. This means that creatures will appear in the layers of the earth gradually and not suddenly, because their appearance in a sudden manner means that they did not evolve from something before them.

Therefore, Darwin said in the tenth chapter of his book "On the Origin of Species": "If many types of creatures appeared in life at one time, this would be fatal to the theory of evolution through natural selection." In his words: "Would be fatal to the theory of evolution through natural selection."

Good, Darwin! You know from your days that many types appeared suddenly beginning with the Cambrian period layers, and you know that this phenomenon repeated itself in other layers where we see many types appearing suddenly in the same layer without being preceded by intermediate creatures, as you put it.

Darwin acknowledged that this difficulty faces his theory instead of acknowledging that it is a fact that demolishes his superstition, and mentioned that some of his peers objected to him with this fact. I wonder, did Darwin acknowledge this with objectivity and honesty as some think? Or does he practice his usual khunfusharism?

Darwin's "Khunfushari" Justifications

Come, let us see the great scientist Darwin, where is the khunfushar? Where are the innumerable transitional creatures that precede the appearance of many types of creatures at once in a layer?

Reference to the Unknown Geographically

Darwin answers you: "We are ignorant of the layers of the earth beyond the borders of America and Europe." That is, perhaps the innumerable transitional creatures, according to Darwin, which the layers of the earth are teeming with, are there in the edges of the mountains of Yemen, China, Mozambique, Honolulu, and the cuckoo.

Darwin says to you: "We forget how vast the world is. Perhaps what happened historically is that creatures evolved gradually in some place 'elsewhere,' and by chance, in some way, copies of some creatures moved to the land of America and Europe."

Of course, my brothers, to "straighten" this scenario for us, we have to assume that these creatures, for some reason, did not follow the process of evolution in the land of America and Europe, but the evolution continued outside America and Europe, and every now and then, copies of other creatures move in some way to America and Europe and do not evolve. Therefore, the layers of the earth in some place outside America and Europe must be teeming with transitional creatures.

With such a super khunfushar scenario, you understand Darwin's statement at the end of his discussion that "we only possess what resembles the last volume of the history of the fossil record limited to two or three countries, and from this volume only one chapter was preserved, and from this chapter only a few lines from some of its pages."

Reference to the Unknown in the Depths of the Earth

Good, Darwin, if we accept your explanation for the upper layers, what is your response to the deep, ancient Cambrian period layers of the earth? Types of creatures also appeared suddenly in these layers, known as the Cambrian explosion, without the existence of innumerable transitional creatures beneath them. It is inconceivable that there were transitional creatures before these creatures in some place; because they are the deepest layers practically, and there are no layers beneath them of importance.

Darwin says to you: "Perhaps - before the deposition of the ancient, deep Cambrian period layers of the earth, perhaps there were very long periods of time, as long as the Cambrian period until now, or longer, and these periods were teeming with living creatures."

• But Darwin! Is it reasonable that these long periods of time were teeming with diverse living creatures and we did not find anything noteworthy from these creatures?
• Can you prove my mistake? Have you gone deep and drilled the earth until you reached the other side of the globe to prove that there are no such layers?
• Frankly, no.
• Then, be quiet.

Referring to the Unknown in the Depths of History (Violent Environmental Conditions)

Peace be upon you. And Darwin had a third response, in which he says to you: "Perhaps in the distant past, the environmental conditions were so violent that they produced rapid changes in living organisms; so the fossil record did not manage to preserve the intermediate organisms."

So, Darwin referred you to the unknown geographically outside the borders of America and Europe somewhere, and to the unknown in the depths of the earth, and to the unknown in the depths of history, and his implication being: "I challenge you to prove my theory wrong."

So, Darwin referred you to the unknown geographically outside the borders of America and Europe somewhere, and to the unknown in the depths of history. People laugh at the scientist who referred to the edges of the Yemen mountains, in a non-existent plant, and they do not laugh at Darwin who refers to the unknowns of time and place, in organisms that he claims must be innumerable, and that the layers of the earth are teeming with them, and that life on the surface of the earth is filled with them. No wonder, for Darwin's joke was preceded by the word "theory" (Theory).

So, with this evasion and turning, Darwin dealt with the issue of the fossil record in 11,660 words of his book (On the Origin of Species), to conclude at the end of this chapter with the statement: "With this logic, the difficulties discussed above diminish greatly or they disappear completely." They disappear. They disappear as a magician hides things with his magic wand.

This is a very good lesson, my brothers, for those who think that Darwin was an objective scientist who acknowledges the difficulties facing his theory in his book. There is a difference between a scientist who presents a coherent theory, with a foundation upon which it stands, then acknowledges points of weakness, and discusses them objectively, and on the other hand, one who presents superstitions and then defuses the objection by trivializing the facts that contradict his superstitions and evading them.

For Darwin first dealt with organisms as if they were magical toys, then referred to the unknowns of time and place with scenarios that are laughable upon investigation, then concluded that his discussion solved the problem completely or almost completely.

Darwin's Henophary: Filling the Gaps

But notice, my brothers, that there was a gap in Darwin's henophary. It is impossible to reach the depths of the depths of the earth, and it is impossible to return to the distant past, but it is not impossible to search for transitional organisms outside America and Europe.

And indeed, Darwin's followers set out in search of these organisms that their teacher spoke about, about the henophary, to prove the correctness of the predictions of their great scientist. A task that must be, and is not very difficult; because layers of the earth somewhere must be teeming with Darwin's henophary, even if America and Europe are devoid of it for unknown reasons.

At the time when the heroes of the films and cartoons were searching for one of them for his mother in every place, or for the lost treasure, or for the heroine of the film, Darwin's followers spent 170 years searching for the henophary in every place.

They reached China in this journey and found nothing but fabricated, glued bones, which they named the Archaeoraptor fossil, which soon turned out to be fake as we explained in the episode of the Pancake Theory.

They reached Ethiopia in the depths of Africa and found in it remains of bones that crumbled in their hands, so their hearts almost crumbled with them, and they hurried to patch them up, and named them the Ardi fossil and considered them the most important discoveries of the century in the world of human evolution, and an icon of the great icons of human evolution.

Then the major journals such as Nature, Science, and major sites such as Scientific American doubted that Ardi had any relation to man at all, and they are now different in their interpretation of it.

And for you, brother, to imagine the magnitude of the tragedy and the miserable condition of the followers of superstition when they celebrate the remains of a decayed fossil, publish many researches about it, then differ about it, while their superstition requires innumerable numbers of transitional stages, even if we concede to them a lot, and other sad stories that we mentioned some of them in the episode (In the Name of Superstition). And yet, Richard Dawkins still says "that evolution must have happened and that we must dig for transitional organisms somewhere else" "on the other side of the mountain" "on the other side of the mountain". Remember the henophary at the edges of the Yemen mountains.

So, where is your henophary, Darwin? We did not find it outside Europe and America in innumerable numbers as you promised us. This was a gap not in Darwin's theory, but in the henophary of his theory, a gap that his followers learned from, so they set out to fill the gaps after him.

Therefore, when you hear that scientists after Darwin are filling the gaps, this is correct, but they are not filling the gaps of the theory, but the gaps of the theory's henophary, meaning they try to henophary the predictions so that the embarrassment that Darwin put them in regarding the fossils outside America and Europe does not recur.

So, when you see Francis Crick and then Richard Dawkins say to you: "Perhaps extraterrestrial beings are the ones who sowed the seed of life on earth," they did not refer you to the edges of the Yemen mountains, nor to outside America and Europe somewhere, but to the edges of the universe, and who knows? Maybe the extraterrestrial beings who sowed life are trillions of light-years away from us in some corner of the universe? Can you prove the opposite?

So, do not be surprised if Darwin's followers in the future say that evolution occurred on another planet, then the organisms that we know as flying saucers came to us, and the organisms in planet X teem with innumerable numbers of them.

Then the henophary evolves and enters the world of physics and astronomy, to transfer the henophary not to the edges of the Yemen mountains, nor to the edges of the universe, but outside the entire universe. Until he says to you, Hawking:

• There are innumerable universes that explain the precise adjustment in the physical standards of our universe.
• But where are these universes, Hawking?
• Did you leave our universe to prove that my theory is wrong? And that there are not multiple universes there?
• Okay, how do we see them with experimental science?
• In the future, perhaps the black hole will take us to these other universes.

A reference to the unknown future, as they referred to the unknown past. And this time outside the boundaries of the entire universe.

Conclusion: The Style of Henophary

So, my brothers, this is the style of henophary, referring to the unknown that cannot be verified, a style that followers of superstition often use in many fields, so beware of it in your discussions. And peace be upon you.