If you've ever been given a pamphlet by an intelligent design propagandist (henceforth referred to as "loon"), then you've read the banana argument. If you haven't here's the gist: since bananas are so tailored to humans, then they must have had some intelligent being behind their design. I will cover the finer points in more detail below, followed by a logical thrashing.

It is important to first examine the logical fallacy at hand. This should jump out at anyone who has every taken a logic course, because it is the most basic and first fallacy that is covered. The fallacy is referred to as "affirming the consequent". Here is an example. When it rains, the ground is wet. The ground is wet. Therefore it has rained. Does that sound fine to you? It shouldn't. Maybe the ground is wet because your neighbor turned on their sprinkler. Or maybe you spilled a bucket of water while washing your car. There is simply not enough information contained in the statements "When it rains the ground is wet" and "The ground is wet" to draw a conclusion as to HOW the wetness occurred.

Now let's apply this to the loon's argument. An intelligent being exists because it created the banana in a way that facilitates its consumption by humans. By design, the banana facilitates its consumption by humans. Therefore, an intelligent being exists. It is easy to see that this argument is a clear example of affirming the consequent.

Wow, that's pretty convincing! Should we stop right here? No, I believe there is much more fun to be had at the expense of intelligent design. The loon begins listing qualities of the banana to support their invalid argument. Did you know that the banana has a grippy surface that is angled to fit into our hands and not fall out? Surely if an intelligent designer were behind this, the same care was given to other fruits, correct? A perfect example is the pineapple. Its thorny, slippery surface is great for holding; the thorns dig into your palm and the slipperiness ensures that the thorns are the only thing keeping it in your hand. Clearly an intelligent design.

The banana has a color indication system. Green means not yet, yellow means eat me, and black means too late. That’s pretty cool! This same indication system was translated by an intelligent designer to berries. red means you’re dead, white means you’re dead, red means eat me, white means eat me, green means you’re dead, and green means eat me. Using this effective list, you can determine which berries are safe to eat or not.

Finally, the banana has a pull tab at the top that makes it easy to open. This method is so useful, that humans are the only animals that open a banana this way. Monkeys, masters of the banana, open bananas by pinching the other end and peeling away the layers. This turns the stem into a handle that you can squeeze when you get to the bottom of the banana (or is it the top?) and conveniently force the remaining bit out without getting banana stuff all over your hands. The pull tab is a convenient aspect of fruits. Just one pull on any fruit’s pull tab will allow access to the delicious snack inside, whether it be the pull tab on a papaya or a coconut.

Does the banana prove anything about an intelligent designer? No, it does not. Finding one example that works in a specific context does not make a valid argument. The only thing worse is choosing a bad example.