If we found a planet full of organisms with uncomplex structures and low information content it wouldn't prove they hadn't been intelligently designed. So ID fits no matter what the pattern of the evidence found.August wrote:Not only the fossil record but also in general, as a part of ID theory:Do you know of any feature of the fossil record which Intelligent Design expects to be found in the future?
(1) High information content machine-like irreducibly complex structures will be found.
An Intelligent Designer could build rough drafts and derive new designs from old designs, meaning that forms in the fossil record will appear with precursors. Again ID fits no matter what the pattern of the evidence found.(2) Forms will be found in the fossil record that appear suddenly and without any precursors.
An Intelligent Designer could create novel parts for each organism. If all life on Earth was made of different parts you can bet people would be strongly arguing that as evidence of Intelligent design. Again ID fits no matter what the pattern of the evidence found.(3) Genes and functional parts will be re-used in different unrelated organisms.
Junk DNA could be a consequence of the design process. Because it has no negative effect on the organism there is no point for the Intelligent Designer to bother removing it afterwards. Again ID fits no matter what the pattern of the evidence found.The genetic code will NOT contain much discarded genetic baggage code or functionless "junk DNA".
I can sincerely say that finding an elephant in the cambrian would disprove evolution. Finding a type of parrot (or something) that ran on something other than DNA would also disprove evolution. As far as I can see Intelligent Design is not a scientific position because it has no way of being potentially disproved (I have given it lots of thought yet have never been able to come up with even one concept that if shown would disprove intelligent design). A theory that fits any evidence possible can't ever be shown to be wrong, even if it is wrong. Which means that we can not be certain it is correct.