Satisfactory explanation of life

UNFORTUNATELY, Sir Fred Hoyle is in such a perceived position of authority that when he makes a whopping great big mistake, a large number of people assume he has thought out what he has said, and accept it without question.

Mr Jack Leibowitz (South China Morning Post, April 14) appears to be one of those unfortunate people who cannot think for themselves before accepting something.

Sir Fred completely misunderstands the process of evolution. Yes, the chances of a tornado sweeping through a junkyard and assembling a Boeing 747 are infinitesimal, as are the chances of life as we know it appearing instantaneously.

However, evolution does not say that that happens. The whole basis of evolution is that change occurs through small random changes. Evolution never says that at some point there was nothing, and then there were trees, elephants and people. Rather, Sir Fred's argument seems more convincing as an argument against Divine Creation.

If you open your eyes, you will realise that the development of life just does not occur like this. When someone's parents conceive a child, that child did not spring fully formed into existence. No, the child spent nine months gradually changing and developing before being born, and another 15 to 20 years developing after that into a fully-grown adult.

Evolution occurs in just the same way. Each individual change is random, but the whole process is not. At some point in my development in the womb, the patch of skin that now makes up my left thumb randomly became a spiral pattern. It could have just as likely become a loop, as I have on my other thumb.