Some people claim this story is based on a real event. But of
course, it’s just an urban myth. The creation/evolution
controversy is not immune to “urban myths.” Recent research has
helped unravel one such “myth,” namely the belief that the
vertebrate retina exhibits bad design. In 1996, evolutionary
biologist Richard Dawkins wrote in regards to the vertebrate
retina, Any engineer would…laugh at any suggestion that the
photocells might point away from the light, with their wires
departing on the side nearest the light. Yet this is exactly
what happens in all vertebrate retinas. Each photocell is, in
effect, wired backwards.1 The retina is a thin layer of light-
responsive neural cells lining the interior back wall of the
eye. It consists of photoreceptor cells that generate an
electrical signal when light impinges upon them. At first glance
the retina appears to be based on a questionable design. The
light-sensitive region of photoreceptor cells orients away from
the source of light. Furthermore, the nerve cel