Snowflakes - Spontaneous Complexity and Order?

Creationists just love to point at examples of biological information (quaternary proteins, DNA, enzymes, etc.) and ask evolutionists how information could have formed spontaneously in an uncontrolled, hazardous environment? After all, primeval earth was a dangerous place for amino acids and other delicate constructs – volcanoes, fierce UV rays, a harsh atmosphere, and the like. Evolutionists respond by pointing out that information and beauty forms on its own all around us all the time, all over the globe. When asked what they could possibly mean, the evolutionists point at – a humble snowflake. They ask, how can you explain that? Spontaneous information, beautiful patterns (insert more lyrical praise here), all found in every sub-zero area on the planet. And each one is unique, they cry, no two are truly alike! If this is not information, then what is?

Before we go into the importance of this point, I feel like I need to provide you with a deeper understanding of what a snowflake really is. A snowflake, in brief, is a freezing water molecule that's latched onto a pollen or dust particle high up in the atmosphere. They are always hexagonal, due to the shape of the water that makes them. They are not, contrary to popular belief, completely symmetrical - your average snowflake will have specks of dust marring one side, or hairline cracks on another. Nonetheless, the six "legs" of the snowflake, as seen above, are pretty similar to each other. This is due to the fact that when a snowflake is influenced by temperature, humidity and pressure, every leg is affected equally and so, every leg changes. Snowflake formation is a dynamic process, and every variable that a snowflake encounters could potentially change its shape. It's this unpredictable aspect of snowflake formation that has led to the well-known fact that snowflakes are unique.

The six sided symmetrical form of snowflakes is due entirely to the unique form of the water molecule - if the oxygen didn't form a 109.5° bond with it's two hydrogen components, snowflakes wouldn't form hexagonally, and would be entirely random. The formation of a snowflake is somewhat analogous to a a speck of dust, or a rock rolling down a hill - the dust speck is certainly unique, as is the rock. You'll never find another rock with the same chips and bumps the rock has, nor a dust speck with the same dips and curls. The only important difference between a snowflake and the rock/dust speck is the hydrogen bonds in the water molecule that allow the symmetry that's admired so frequently. They're both just random processes, one of which is (by intelligent design in the water molecule) able to replicate the same changes on six sides, creating the illusion of information.