Re: The Toolbox argument against Intelligent Design
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 5:43 am
Does anyone else see what I see?
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (Psalm 19:1)
https://discussions.godandscience.org/
Does anyone else see what I see?
Let me disagree slightly with your statement.Oh, yes, I agree.
40 years of scientific experiments studying the results of 'random mutation' (whatever that means) and 'natural selection' do show a very definitive tendency.
Intelligence simulating unitelligence which falsifies said intelligence by surpassing it in intelligence. I know who's on first but what's on second?Philip wrote: ↑Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:04 amOf course - computers and algorithms are first produced and engineered by intelligent beings (humans!), along with their capabilities, parameters and functionalities - so, I'd say, a really bad use of an analogy by Nils!
DBowling wrote: ↑Thu Sep 13, 2018 10:32 amLet me disagree slightly with your statement.PaulSacramento wrote: ↑Thu Sep 13, 2018 9:13 am The view of randomness in evolution is:
A mutation is caused by environmental factors, such as solar radiation.
That mutation, whatever it is, is a random one- there is no way to predict what that mutation will be.
40 years of scientific experiments studying the results of 'random mutation' (whatever that means) and 'natural selection' do show a very definitive tendency.These results of 40 years of scientific studies specifically observing what the Darwinian processes of 'random mutation' and 'natural selection' are capable of doing at the molecular level demonstrate that...“the rate of appearance of an adaptive mutation that would arise from the diminishment or elimination of the activity of a protein is expected to be 100-1000 times the rate of appearance of an adaptive mutation that requires specific changes to a gene.”
'random mutation' (or what we define as random mutation) and 'natural selection' by themselves are incapable of producing the structure and complexity that we observe in the DNA of life today and they are also incapable of producing the change and rate of change that we see in the fossil record.
This is not a philosophical assertion. This is a result of 40 years of scientific study specifically observing 'random mutation' and 'natural selection' in tens of thousands of generations of bacteria.
Philip wrote: ↑Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:04 amOf course - computers and algorithms are first produced and engineered by intelligent beings (humans!), along with their capabilities, parameters and functionalities - so, I'd say, a really bad use of an analogy by Nils!
Nils, the obvious and immense problem you have is that what the program was able to create originated from and was totally dependent upon the already existing intelligent programmers that created it. The program nor the computers that ran it popped out of nothingness by themselves, nor could it create ANYTHING without what was made possible by humans. As once again, your analogy is like Byblos borrowed analogy of the bookcase full of books anchored to absolutely NOTHING - meaning, your argument likewise otherwise collapses!Nils wrote: ↑Sun Sep 16, 2018 12:26 amPhilip wrote: ↑Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:04 amOf course - computers and algorithms are first produced and engineered by intelligent beings (humans!), along with their capabilities, parameters and functionalities - so, I'd say, a really bad use of an analogy by Nils!
You are partly correct, Philip, Intelligence (human) simulating unintelligence (evolution) by another unintelligence (program/algorithm). But that unintelligence (program) creates knowledge that successfully competes with knowledge created by the intelligence (human).
Note that the knowledge the program creates is NOT built into the program (including capabilities, parameters and functionalities) from the beginning. The programmers didn’t know the knowledge the program came up with, a knowledge that in the future may expand to intelligence. This is a parallel to how an unintelligent natural program (evolution) created intelligence (human).
Nils
Philip wrote: ↑Sun Sep 16, 2018 12:13 pmNils, the obvious and immense problem you have is that what the program was able to create originated from and was totally dependent upon the already existing intelligent programmers that created it. The program nor the computers that ran it popped out of nothingness by themselves, nor could it create ANYTHING without what was made possible by humans. As once again, your analogy is like Byblos borrowed analogy of the bookcase full of books anchored to absolutely NOTHING - meaning, your argument likewise otherwise collapses!Nils wrote: ↑Sun Sep 16, 2018 12:26 amPhilip wrote: ↑Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:04 amOf course - computers and algorithms are first produced and engineered by intelligent beings (humans!), along with their capabilities, parameters and functionalities - so, I'd say, a really bad use of an analogy by Nils!
You are partly correct, Philip, Intelligence (human) simulating unintelligence (evolution) by another unintelligence (program/algorithm). But that unintelligence (program) creates knowledge that successfully competes with knowledge created by the intelligence (human).
Note that the knowledge the program creates is NOT built into the program (including capabilities, parameters and functionalities) from the beginning. The programmers didn’t know the knowledge the program came up with, a knowledge that in the future may expand to intelligence. This is a parallel to how an unintelligent natural program (evolution) created intelligence (human).
Nils
Irrelevant! There are many things man creates that go beyond his otherwise natural ability, that provides new knowledge. But that is only made possible by intelligent beings creating and applying their knowledge and ingenuity to a machine, tool or program that makes this possible. The cart does not pull the horse - nor does the cart invent itself or hook itself up to a horse by itself!Nils: It is by no means foreseen by the programmers but creates new knowledge, very often far beyond the capacity of any human being.
I have no problem with Bele’s article. But I have a problem with your interpretation. Why do you leave out the rest of the conclusion:DBowling wrote: ↑Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:37 am For me the strongest arguments against the adequacy of Darwinistic Evolution come from 40 years of experimentation demonstrating what random mutation and natural selection can and cannot do at the molecular level.
In 2010 Michael Behe wrote an interesting paper for The Quarterly Review of Biology titled “Experimental Evolution, Loss-of-Function Mutations and ‘The First Rule of Adaptive Evolution’”
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/96cf/d ... 1536717721
From the Abstract of the ArticleFrom the ConclusionAdaptive evolution can cause a species to gain, lose, or modify a function; therefore, it is of
basic interest to determine whether any of these modes dominates the evolutionary process under
particular circumstances. Because mutation occurs at the molecular level, it is necessary to
examine the molecular changes produced by the underlying mutation in order to assess whether
a given adaptation is best considered as a gain, loss, or modification of function. Although that
was once impossible, the advance of molecular biology in the past half century has made it
feasible. In this paper, I review molecular changes underlying some adaptations, with a particular
emphasis on evolutionary experiments with microbes conducted over the past four decades.
I show that by far the most common adaptive changes seen in those examples are due to the loss
or modification of a pre-existing molecular function, and I discuss the possible reasons for the
prominence of such mutations.FCTs as defined by Behe are:Adaptive evolution can cause a species to gain, lose, or modify a function. Therefore, it is of basic interest to determine whether any of these modes dominates the evolutionary process under particular circumstances. The results of decades of experimental laboratory evolution studies strongly suggest that, at the molecular level, loss-of-FCT and diminishing
modification-of-function adaptive mutations predominate.In this review, I focus on adaptive evolution by gain, loss, or modification of what I term Functional Coded elemenTs (FCTs). An FCT is a discrete but not necessarily contiguous region of a gene that, by means of its nucleotide sequence, influences the production, processing, or biological activity of a particular nucleic acid or protein, or its specific binding to another molecule.
A high level overview of Behe's article can be found here:
https://evolutionnews.org/2010/12/micha ... ule_of_ad/
Here are a couple of key points” In essence, what Behe means is that mutations that cause loss-of-FCT are going to be far more likely and thus far more common than those which gain a functional coding element. In fact, he writes: “the rate of appearance of an adaptive mutation that would arise from the diminishment or elimination of the activity of a protein is expected to be 100-1000 times the rate of appearance of an adaptive mutation that requires specific changes to a gene.”The bottom line is forty years of evolutionary experiments have demonstrated that at the molecular level, the Darwinistic processes of random mutation and natural selection are incapable of producing either the complexity and structure that we find in the DNA of life today or the changes that we find in the fossil record.In short, the logical outcome of Behe’s finding is that some process other than natural selection and random mutation must be generating new FCTs. If Darwinian evolution is at work, it tends to remove FCTs much faster than it creates them — something else must be generating the information for new FCTs.
Do you go by what people say or evidence because regardless of what they claim we can look at their evidence and see that adaptation does not cause any kind of life to evolve.They claim that adaptation is one of many facets of evolution but have no evidence to back it up.Even when bacteria adapted to live in hostile conditions such as Chernobyl,or eskimoes adapting to live in the extreme cold they did not evolve and they remained in their population so that they can never evolve.If they claim it causes life to evolve they MUST prove it and not just say it.Nils wrote: ↑Sat Sep 22, 2018 12:47 amI have no problem with Bele’s article. But I have a problem with your interpretation. Why do you leave out the rest of the conclusion:DBowling wrote: ↑Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:37 am For me the strongest arguments against the adequacy of Darwinistic Evolution come from 40 years of experimentation demonstrating what random mutation and natural selection can and cannot do at the molecular level.
In 2010 Michael Behe wrote an interesting paper for The Quarterly Review of Biology titled “Experimental Evolution, Loss-of-Function Mutations and ‘The First Rule of Adaptive Evolution’”
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/96cf/d ... 1536717721
From the Abstract of the ArticleFrom the ConclusionAdaptive evolution can cause a species to gain, lose, or modify a function; therefore, it is of
basic interest to determine whether any of these modes dominates the evolutionary process under
particular circumstances. Because mutation occurs at the molecular level, it is necessary to
examine the molecular changes produced by the underlying mutation in order to assess whether
a given adaptation is best considered as a gain, loss, or modification of function. Although that
was once impossible, the advance of molecular biology in the past half century has made it
feasible. In this paper, I review molecular changes underlying some adaptations, with a particular
emphasis on evolutionary experiments with microbes conducted over the past four decades.
I show that by far the most common adaptive changes seen in those examples are due to the loss
or modification of a pre-existing molecular function, and I discuss the possible reasons for the
prominence of such mutations.FCTs as defined by Behe are:Adaptive evolution can cause a species to gain, lose, or modify a function. Therefore, it is of basic interest to determine whether any of these modes dominates the evolutionary process under particular circumstances. The results of decades of experimental laboratory evolution studies strongly suggest that, at the molecular level, loss-of-FCT and diminishing
modification-of-function adaptive mutations predominate.In this review, I focus on adaptive evolution by gain, loss, or modification of what I term Functional Coded elemenTs (FCTs). An FCT is a discrete but not necessarily contiguous region of a gene that, by means of its nucleotide sequence, influences the production, processing, or biological activity of a particular nucleic acid or protein, or its specific binding to another molecule.
A high level overview of Behe's article can be found here:
https://evolutionnews.org/2010/12/micha ... ule_of_ad/
Here are a couple of key points” In essence, what Behe means is that mutations that cause loss-of-FCT are going to be far more likely and thus far more common than those which gain a functional coding element. In fact, he writes: “the rate of appearance of an adaptive mutation that would arise from the diminishment or elimination of the activity of a protein is expected to be 100-1000 times the rate of appearance of an adaptive mutation that requires specific changes to a gene.”The bottom line is forty years of evolutionary experiments have demonstrated that at the molecular level, the Darwinistic processes of random mutation and natural selection are incapable of producing either the complexity and structure that we find in the DNA of life today or the changes that we find in the fossil record.In short, the logical outcome of Behe’s finding is that some process other than natural selection and random mutation must be generating new FCTs. If Darwinian evolution is at work, it tends to remove FCTs much faster than it creates them — something else must be generating the information for new FCTs.
“In retrospect, this conclusion is readily understandable from our knowledge of the structure of genetic systems, and is concisely summarized by the first rule of adaptive evolution. Evolution has myriad facets, and this one is worthy of some notice.” [italics added by me]
Why do you cite a Discovery Institute article that misinterprets the article (without mentioning the source, Discovery Institute, which is the headquarter of the Intelligent Design movement).
If what you say is a generally accepted opinion then the problem for evolution would be widely described and analysed in hundreds of scientific articles and in current books on evolution and I don’t find anything about it in Wikipedia for instance. Do you?
Nils
I have no problem with the rest of the conclusion that you quote.Nils wrote: ↑Sat Sep 22, 2018 12:47 amI have no problem with Bele’s article. But I have a problem with your interpretation. Why do you leave out the rest of the conclusion:DBowling wrote: ↑Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:37 am For me the strongest arguments against the adequacy of Darwinistic Evolution come from 40 years of experimentation demonstrating what random mutation and natural selection can and cannot do at the molecular level.
In 2010 Michael Behe wrote an interesting paper for The Quarterly Review of Biology titled “Experimental Evolution, Loss-of-Function Mutations and ‘The First Rule of Adaptive Evolution’”
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/96cf/d ... 1536717721
From the Abstract of the ArticleFrom the ConclusionAdaptive evolution can cause a species to gain, lose, or modify a function; therefore, it is of
basic interest to determine whether any of these modes dominates the evolutionary process under
particular circumstances. Because mutation occurs at the molecular level, it is necessary to
examine the molecular changes produced by the underlying mutation in order to assess whether
a given adaptation is best considered as a gain, loss, or modification of function. Although that
was once impossible, the advance of molecular biology in the past half century has made it
feasible. In this paper, I review molecular changes underlying some adaptations, with a particular
emphasis on evolutionary experiments with microbes conducted over the past four decades.
I show that by far the most common adaptive changes seen in those examples are due to the loss
or modification of a pre-existing molecular function, and I discuss the possible reasons for the
prominence of such mutations.FCTs as defined by Behe are:Adaptive evolution can cause a species to gain, lose, or modify a function. Therefore, it is of basic interest to determine whether any of these modes dominates the evolutionary process under particular circumstances. The results of decades of experimental laboratory evolution studies strongly suggest that, at the molecular level, loss-of-FCT and diminishing
modification-of-function adaptive mutations predominate.In this review, I focus on adaptive evolution by gain, loss, or modification of what I term Functional Coded elemenTs (FCTs). An FCT is a discrete but not necessarily contiguous region of a gene that, by means of its nucleotide sequence, influences the production, processing, or biological activity of a particular nucleic acid or protein, or its specific binding to another molecule.
A high level overview of Behe's article can be found here:
https://evolutionnews.org/2010/12/micha ... ule_of_ad/
Here are a couple of key points” In essence, what Behe means is that mutations that cause loss-of-FCT are going to be far more likely and thus far more common than those which gain a functional coding element. In fact, he writes: “the rate of appearance of an adaptive mutation that would arise from the diminishment or elimination of the activity of a protein is expected to be 100-1000 times the rate of appearance of an adaptive mutation that requires specific changes to a gene.”The bottom line is forty years of evolutionary experiments have demonstrated that at the molecular level, the Darwinistic processes of random mutation and natural selection are incapable of producing either the complexity and structure that we find in the DNA of life today or the changes that we find in the fossil record.In short, the logical outcome of Behe’s finding is that some process other than natural selection and random mutation must be generating new FCTs. If Darwinian evolution is at work, it tends to remove FCTs much faster than it creates them — something else must be generating the information for new FCTs.
“In retrospect, this conclusion is readily understandable from our knowledge of the structure of genetic systems, and is concisely summarized by the first rule of adaptive evolution. Evolution has myriad facets, and this one is worthy of some notice.” [italics added by me]
I quote a Discovery Institute article, because Michael Behe (the author of the The Quarterly Review of Biology article in question) is a member of the Discovery Institute.Why do you cite a Discovery Institute article that misinterprets the article (without mentioning the source, Discovery Institute, which is the headquarter of the Intelligent Design movement).
If what you say is a generally accepted opinion then the problem for evolution would be widely described and analysed in hundreds of scientific articles and in current books on evolution and I don’t find anything about it in Wikipedia for instance. Do you?
OK, I have to be more specific. What I referred to is the ability of creative intelligence.(I wrote in #29: “What I know is that computer algorithms mimicking biological evolution and using quasi randomness can generate knowledge that is beyond human intelligence”)Philip wrote: ↑Mon Sep 17, 2018 8:17 amIrrelevant! There are many things man creates that go beyond his otherwise natural ability, that provides new knowledge. But that is only made possible by intelligent beings creating and applying their knowledge and ingenuity to a machine, tool or program that makes this possible. The cart does not pull the horse - nor does the cart invent itself or hook itself up to a horse by itself!Nils: It is by no means foreseen by the programmers but creates new knowledge, very often far beyond the capacity of any human being.
Wikipedia: "The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and most powerful particle collider and the most complex experimental facility ever built and the largest machine in the world ... Physicists hope that (it) will help answer some of the fundamental open questions in physics, concerning the basic laws governing the interactions and forces among the elementary objects, the deep structure of space and time, and in particular the interrelation between quantum mechanics and general relativity. So, this machine has the potential to answer questions and perform analysis that no human could."
LHC isn’t a good example to compare with genetic programming. I am not talking about capabilities regarding computing speed but of intelligence.Philip wrote: ↑Mon Sep 17, 2018 8:17 am But what made the LHC machine, its parts, its capabilities FIRST come into existence and provide it the abilities to do what it does? Are the results it will produce able to be produced by a mere human? Course not! But what came FIRST???!!! It matters not one bit that results are unforeseen or arrived at via a machine that has capabilities beyond a human. Really, Nils, you are grasping at straws with not-well-thought-out analogies!
Then let me ask you this, what is required in order to determine intelligence?Nils wrote: ↑Sun Sep 23, 2018 11:52 pmOK, I have to be more specific. What I referred to is the ability of creative intelligence.(I wrote in #29: “What I know is that computer algorithms mimicking biological evolution and using quasi randomness can generate knowledge that is beyond human intelligence”)Philip wrote: ↑Mon Sep 17, 2018 8:17 amIrrelevant! There are many things man creates that go beyond his otherwise natural ability, that provides new knowledge. But that is only made possible by intelligent beings creating and applying their knowledge and ingenuity to a machine, tool or program that makes this possible. The cart does not pull the horse - nor does the cart invent itself or hook itself up to a horse by itself!Nils: It is by no means foreseen by the programmers but creates new knowledge, very often far beyond the capacity of any human being.
Wikipedia: "The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and most powerful particle collider and the most complex experimental facility ever built and the largest machine in the world ... Physicists hope that (it) will help answer some of the fundamental open questions in physics, concerning the basic laws governing the interactions and forces among the elementary objects, the deep structure of space and time, and in particular the interrelation between quantum mechanics and general relativity. So, this machine has the potential to answer questions and perform analysis that no human could."
LHC is a physcial experiment with enormous amouts of computer power but the algorithms are well known and the computers could be substituted by humans even if that would take eons of time. The computers are only needed to speed up the process. The genetic/evolutionary computer process is in some way a search for new algorithms, algorithms that are completely unknown to the programmers beforehand. These types of program are used and find knowledge that isn't available to humans in any other way. If you want I can descibe it in detail.LHC isn’t a good example to compare with genetic programming. I am not talking about capabilities regarding computing speed but of intelligence.Philip wrote: ↑Mon Sep 17, 2018 8:17 am But what made the LHC machine, its parts, its capabilities FIRST come into existence and provide it the abilities to do what it does? Are the results it will produce able to be produced by a mere human? Course not! But what came FIRST???!!! It matters not one bit that results are unforeseen or arrived at via a machine that has capabilities beyond a human. Really, Nils, you are grasping at straws with not-well-thought-out analogies!
Nils