Crossing a Chasm: In Small Steps?

The author started his working career as an Air Traffic Control Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force and after resigning his commission spent thirty-five years in the Information Services industry. In the context of his writings he describes himself as an analyst by aspiration inclination proclivity training and occupation. His books reflect his primary intellectual pursuit: explanations given for human existence by both religions and evolution. Having published several analyses including Religion: Of God or Man and Seeking After God he concluded that there was nothing more that he could learn on that subject - the issue remained an enduring mystery. Returning to the other explanation evolution he had long wanted to complete a more thorough analysis of evolution theory than as presented in his earlier publications The Dawkins Deficiency and Information Knowledge Evolution and Self. This required that he acquire and study dozens of academic books and other publications seeking to understand the plausibility and at times hollowness of scientific explanations. Using his background knowledge of relevant technologies he was able to identify parallels between modern automation and mechanisation and human biological processes. One of particular interest was an analysis of the technical similarities between the human sensory system and modern telemetry systems. With a lifelong passion for a travel and a modest appetite for adventure he has trekked in the Khumbu and Annapurna regions of Nepal the Peruvian Andes and Patagonia. His hobby apart from writing has been a love of all things motorcycling from touring remote areas and attending races to complete restoration of vintage motorcycles. He has motorcycled throughout parts of his native Australia North America New Zealand Iceland Bolivia Peru Turkey the Himalaya Morocco Greece and eastern Europe. His business and holiday travels have taken him through sixty countries and all continents including Antarctica. Evolution is defined as the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations resulting in changes in both the genotype and phenotype. The evidence for evolution is primarily circumstantial being based on fossils of extinct species physical similarities and a largely common genome. Charles Darwin believed that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small inherited variations that increase the individuals ability to compete survive and reproduce. Today we know so much more than Darwin did 150 years ago leading many scientists to discard genetic mutation and natural selection as having the development power previously ascribed to them. What has been missing in the science so far is systems thinking - a holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a systems constituent parts interrelate and how systems work over time and within the context of larger systems. Questioning whether the mind consists of organs of the brain an emergent property of the brain or activities of the brain as scientists suggest the author has concluded for none of these. The brain being physical it can only deal with the physical but the mind deals in the conceptual which has no physical properties. With his background in related technologies the author has compared the human nervous system with telemetry systems as used in modern aircraft vehicles and other applications. Though implemented differently the functional requirements remain the same which has prompted a different perspective on how it could have evolved. The telemetry system in the human body is astounding in its complexity accuracy and reliability leading to the authors doubts as to its claimed evolutionary origins. Crossing a Chasm is an analysis of the probability that such could be accomplished by innumerable unguided small steps over whatever time.