Editing Argument from poor design (section)

====Other flaws====

* Barely used nerves and muscles, such as the [[plantaris muscle]] of the foot,<ref name="selim">{{cite journal |last=Selim |first=Jocelyn |date=June 2004 |title=Useless Body Parts |journal=Discover |volume=25 |issue=6 |url=http://discovermagazine.com/2004/jun/useless-body-parts |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817155923/http://discovermagazine.com/2004/jun/useless-body-parts |archive-date=2011-08-17 }}</ref> that are missing in part of the human population and are routinely harvested as spare parts if needed during operations. Another example is the muscles that move the ears, which some people can learn to control to a degree, but serve no purpose in any case.<ref>{{cite book |first=Ernst |last=Haeckel |author-link=Ernst Haeckel |year=1892 |url=https://archive.org/details/historycreation01schmgoog |title=The History of Creation |publisher=D. Appleton |location=Appleton, New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/historycreation01schmgoog/page/n356 328]}}</ref>
* The common malformation of the human spinal column, leading to [[scoliosis]], [[sciatica]] and congenital misalignment of the vertebrae. The [[spinal cord]] cannot ever properly heal if it is damaged, because neurons have become so specialized that they are no longer able to regrow once they reach their mature state. The spinal cord, if broken, will never repair itself and will result in permanent [[paralysis]].<ref>"Nervous System Guide by the National Science Teachers Association." Nervous System Guide by the National Science Teachers Association. National Science Teachers Association, n.d. Web. 7 November 2013. <{{cite web |url=http://www.nsta.org/publications/interactive/nerves/health_and_disease/sc_injuries.html |title=Nervous System Guide by the National Science Teachers Association |access-date=2013-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001090246/http://www.nsta.org/publications/interactive/nerves/health_and_disease/sc_injuries.html |archive-date=2013-10-01 }}></ref>
* The route of the [[recurrent laryngeal nerve]] is such that it travels from the brain to the larynx by looping around the [[aortic arch]]. This same configuration holds true for many animals; in the case of the [[giraffe]], this results in about twenty feet of extra nerve.
* Almost all animals and plants synthesize their own [[vitamin C]], but humans cannot because the gene for this enzyme is defective ([[L-gulonolactone oxidase|Pseudogene ΨGULO]]).<ref>{{cite journal |author=Nishikimi M, Yagi K |s2cid=27631027 |title=Molecular basis for the deficiency in humans of gulonolactone oxidase, a key enzyme for ascorbic acid biosynthesis |journal=Am. J. Clin. Nutr. |volume=54 |issue=6 Suppl |pages=1203S–1208S |date=December 1991 |pmid=1962571 |doi=10.1093/ajcn/54.6.1203s|doi-access=free }}</ref> Lack of vitamin C results in [[scurvy]] and eventually death. The gene is also non-functional in other [[primate]]s and in [[guinea pig]]s, but is functional in most other animals.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ohta Y, Nishikimi M |title=Random nucleotide substitutions in primate nonfunctional gene for L-gulono-gamma-lactone oxidase, the missing enzyme in L-ascorbic acid biosynthesis |journal=Biochim. Biophys. Acta |volume=1472 |issue=1–2 |pages=408–11 |date=October 1999 |pmid=10572964 |doi=10.1016/S0304-4165(99)00123-3}}</ref>
* The prevalence of [[congenital disease]]s and genetic disorders such as [[Huntington's disease]].
* The male [[urethra]] passes directly through the [[prostate]], which can produce urinary difficulties if the prostate becomes swollen.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gregory |first=T. Ryan |date=December 2009 |title=The Argument from Design: A Guided Tour of William Paley's Natural Theology (1802) |journal=Evolution: Education and Outreach |language=en |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=602–611 |doi=10.1007/s12052-009-0184-6 |s2cid=35806252 |issn=1936-6434|doi-access=free }}</ref>
* Crowded [[teeth]] and poor [[Paranasal sinus|sinus]] drainage, as human faces are significantly flatter than those of other [[primates]] although humans share the same tooth set. This results in a number of problems, most notably with [[wisdom teeth]], which can damage neighboring teeth or cause serious infections of the mouth.<ref>"Wisdom Teeth." American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS). AAOMS, n.d. Web. 7 November 2013. <{{cite web |url=http://www.aaoms.org/conditions-and-treatments/wisdom-teeth |title=Wisdom Teeth &#124; AAOMS.org |access-date=2013-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110234351/http://www.aaoms.org/conditions-and-treatments/wisdom-teeth/ |archive-date=2013-11-10 }}>.</ref>
* The structure of [[human eye]]s (as well as those of all vertebrates). The [[retina]] is 'inside out'. The nerves and blood vessels lie on the ''surface'' of the retina instead of behind it as is the case in many [[invertebrate]] species. This arrangement forces a number of complex adaptations and gives mammals a [[blind spot (vision)|blind spot]].<ref>Nave, R. "The Retina." of the Human Eye. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 November 2013. <{{cite web |url=http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/retina.html |title=The Retina of the Human Eye |access-date=2015-06-03 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504053926/http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/retina.html |archive-date=2015-05-04 }}>.</ref> Having the optic nerve connected to the side of the retina that does not receive the light, as is the case in [[cephalopods]], would avoid these problems.<ref>"Squid Brains, Eyes, and Color." Squid Brains, Eyes, and Color. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 November 2013. <{{cite web |url=http://gilly.stanford.edu/neuroscience.html |title=Squid Brains, Eyes, and Color |access-date=2013-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111005702/http://gilly.stanford.edu/neuroscience.html |archive-date=2013-11-11 }}>.</ref> [[Nathan H. Lents|Lents]] and colleagues have proposed that the [[tapetum lucidum]], the reflective surface behind vertebrate retinas, has evolved to overcome the limitations of the inverted retina,<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bies.202200003 |doi=10.1002/bies.202200003 |title=The glow of the night: The tapetum lucidum as a co‐adaptation for the inverted retina |date=2022 |last1=Vee |first1=Samantha |last2=Barclay |first2=Gerald |last3=Lents |first3=Nathan H. |journal=BioEssays |volume=44 |issue=10 |s2cid=251864970 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> as cephalopods have never evolved this structure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2022/12/the-night-begins-to-shine-the-tapetum-lucidum-and-our-backward-retinas/ |title=The Night Begins to Shine: The Tapetum Lucidum and Our Backward Retinas &#124; Skeptical Inquirer |date=29 December 2022 }}</ref> However, an 'inverted' retina actually improves image quality through [[Müller glia|müller cells]] by reducing distortion.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Franze|first1=Kristian|last2=Grosche|first2=Jens|last3=Skatchkov|first3=Serguei N.|last4=Schinkinger|first4=Stefan|last5=Foja|first5=Christian|last6=Schild|first6=Detlev|last7=Uckermann|first7=Ortrud|last8=Travis|first8=Kort|last9=Reichenbach|first9=Andreas|last10=Guck|first10=Jochen|date=2007-05-15|title=Muller cells are living optical fibers in the vertebrate retina|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume=104|issue=20|pages=8287–8292|doi=10.1073/pnas.0611180104|issn=0027-8424|pmc=1895942|pmid=17485670|doi-access=free}}</ref> The effects of the blind spots resulting from the inverted retina are cancelled by [[binocular vision]], as the blind spots in both eyes are oppositely angled. Additionally, as [[cephalopod eye]]s lack cone cells and might be able to judge color by bringing specific wavelengths to a focus on the retina, an inverted retina might interfere with this mechanism.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sanders|first=Robert|date=2016-07-05|title=Weird pupils let octopuses see their colorful gardens|url=https://news.berkeley.edu/2016/07/05/weird-pupils-let-octopuses-see-their-colorful-gardens/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706161645/http://news.berkeley.edu/2016/07/05/weird-pupils-let-octopuses-see-their-colorful-gardens/ |archive-date=2016-07-06 |access-date=2021-01-12|website=Berkeley News|language=en-US}}</ref>
* Humans are attracted to [[junk food]]'s non-nutritious ingredients, and even wholly non-nutritious [[psychoactive drugs]], and can experience [[physical dependence|physiological adaptations]] to prefer them to nutrients.