It s important to realize, however that the second law is ultimately a mathematical statement. Usually there is little more to the argument than the claim that the second law says natural forces always lead to increases in entropy, while evolution implies that the entropy of the Earth has decreased. Creationist uses of the second law seldom go beyond this rudimentary understanding. Most people know that the second law has something to do with entropy and that entropy has something to do with randomness and disorder. But if someone says that evolution contradicts the second law then that person is simply wrong about a question of fact. You see, if someone says that he has considered the evidence for evolution and finds it unconvincing, we might shake our heads in disbelief or wonder how seriously he has studied the matter, but in the end it is a matter of opinion whether the evidence is compelling. As soon as you hear someone make this argument you can be certain that you are dealing with a crank. For people with a basic science education it is something of a litmus test. I'm sure we're all familiar with the creationist chestnut that evolution violates the second law of thermodynamics.
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