there seem to be many prerequisites for life as we know it.. to name a few: order, function, compatibility, availability, sustainability, intelligence, consciousness, intuition and so on.. focusing on only one, namely order.. what are the chances of order arising spontaneously, by chance, with no creator/designer?.
i have often pondered this and recently came across a mathematical summary of the big picture:.
if every particle in the known physical universe (10^80 particles), participated in one trillion interactions (10^12 interactions) per second, for the entire 30 billion years of the universe's existence (10^18 seconds), then we would by now have covered only 10^110 permutations.. if you had only 100 components in a container, what are the chances that a blindfolded person could lay them out in order on a table?.
Viviane: Math is straight from babby Jesus and is held together and werks becuase of Gods Wholly Srprit!
http://www.christianperspective.net/math/god-and-math/
Checkmate!
Oh, I didn't know that. My bad. Wow, God is very generous - he makes sure one and one always equal two even for an atheist like me! He didn't have to do that (apparently).
there seem to be many prerequisites for life as we know it.. to name a few: order, function, compatibility, availability, sustainability, intelligence, consciousness, intuition and so on.. focusing on only one, namely order.. what are the chances of order arising spontaneously, by chance, with no creator/designer?.
i have often pondered this and recently came across a mathematical summary of the big picture:.
if every particle in the known physical universe (10^80 particles), participated in one trillion interactions (10^12 interactions) per second, for the entire 30 billion years of the universe's existence (10^18 seconds), then we would by now have covered only 10^110 permutations.. if you had only 100 components in a container, what are the chances that a blindfolded person could lay them out in order on a table?.
The universe must have laws - it could not exist without them. There is no other way for the universe to be (than to have natural laws). The laws themselves could be different to the ones we have, and if they were, we would not exist (but something else would). This does not require an intelligence to create the laws, the laws just are. 2+2=4 regardless of whether any intelligence exists to realise it. Nobody had to 'invent' the fact that 2+2=4, it just is. The laws of physics just are. Natural laws do not require a law maker - using man-made laws to claim that they do is a false analogy (a logical fallacy).
As such, to postulate that either life arose by 'chance' or was 'designed' is a false dichotomy (another logical fallacy). Natural laws influence what happens, making some outcomes more likely than others. It is not random, neither need it be intelligently controlled. For all we know, the probability that life would arise spontaneously given the laws of physics in our universe could be 100%. Or it could be 0.00001%. We don't know, because we don't know exactly what happened or how it happened. Either is fine, and neither requires an intelligent agent. Occam's razor should indeed be applied, but the existence of a supernatural intelligence greatly complicates things, since you then have to account for its existence - and the only way to do that is with special pleading (another logical fallacy).
The universe is reckoned to be about 13.82 billion years old btw.
this site has gone through many metamorphosis over the years.
i believe it is a kinder, less edgy place tan it was a few years ago.
i wonder how many people were helped versus turned off by this place.
so i just received my one ticket to motogp in austin april 10,11,and 12. is anyone else in this neighborhood going?
of course jws have the 'perfection' rider and the ability of god to intervene at any time to skirt round the logical flaws, but here is an amusing look at what might really happen if we could live forever:.
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/if-superpowers-were-real-immortality-joy-lin.
Of course JWs have the 'perfection' rider and the ability of God to intervene at any time to skirt round the logical flaws, but here is an amusing look at what might really happen if we could live forever:
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/if-superpowers-were-real-immortality-joy-lin
i learned this past week that my wife is now awake.
i just shared the pbs newshour segment with her with no comment other than something along the lines of, "jw story on pbs.".
she is furious at the arrogance of these men.. thats what happens when you get a momma angry!.
it is often said that our retinas are are an example of sub-optimal design.. a few years ago i was intrigued by a passing comment in one of nick lane's to the effect that this is not a good argument but he didn't go into much detail.. researchers at leipzig have revealed the role of glial cells in transmitting light from the surface of the retina to the cones, acting like fiber-optic cables.. erex ribak has built a model of the eye and demonstrated some fascinating details.... so, the question is - does this reflect good "design" or a retro-fitted repair like the hubble telescope's glasses?.
for those who think that belief or the possibility of intelligent design means you must accept or believe everything or anything you have heard about god or a god is incorrect.
i'll quote one line from the article, " but intelligent design, unlike creationism, is not based upon the bible.
design is an inference from biological data, not a deduction from religious authority.
here are the court details and the story behind it all... man suing watchtower for disfellowshipping/defamation.
here are the court details and the story behind it all... man suing watchtower for disfellowshipping/defamation.
