Posts by hooberus

63

Evolution is a Fact #27 - Monkeys, Typewriters, Shakespeare, 747s etc.

by cofty in

most creationist arguments can be summarised as "complexity, complexity, complexity - therefore god".

we have all heard the illustrations about the odds of (insert favourite example) evolving, being less than 10,000 monkeys typing macbeth by pure chance.

evolution is not like that.

hooberus

From the Opening Post:

"Most creationist arguments can be summarised as "complexity, complexity, complexity - therefore god"

We have all heard the illustrations about the odds of (insert favourite example) evolving, being less than 10,000 monkeys typing Macbeth by pure chance.

Evolution is not like that.

The genius of Charles Darwin was in recognising the power of natural selection as an accumulator of small random changes.

Imagine our 10,000 monkeys randomly typing until one of them by pure chance comes up with "When.."

At that point all the other pages are scrapped and every monkey is given a copy of this page. We observe some more until another monkey adds "shall.." and so on through thousands of iterations. How long would it take to achieve "When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?" Completing the full play now becomes inevitable.

Evolution is a little bit like that."

Not really!

Your example gives perfect selection in one generation with no reduction in population size. In order to acheive perfect selection, you would have to have the 9,999 of the monkeys with the wrong typing be ELIMINATED without typing again. This reduces your population to only 1 typing monkey (the one that typed "When"). One monkey would be extinction. Your example killed the population.

Even if one monkey could somehow reproduce it would take many years for the population size to increase back to 10,000 again. Such a small population would be very vulnerable to extinction by chance processes.

50

Why Finding the One True Religion is Impossible

by Simon in

jws like to think they have found the one true religion.

but like so many other religious people, it's usually the religion they were born into, the only religion they know because it's the first one they found or, at the most, one of two or three (typically the second one after they left their first / born-in faith).. the trouble is, there simply isn't enough time to explore and investigate each and everyone of the many thousands of belief systems, religions and sects around the world.. think of it this way: which is the best neighbourhood to live in where you would be most happy and most successful?

not just in the city or even the country you are in, but the entire world.. how would you ever know?

hooberus

The O.P. uses both the term "religion" and "belief system". I will therefore use "belief system" in discussion .

Simon wrote:

Yes, I don't think there is any one true religion, they are all as fake as each other, just some more dangerous.

Using "belief system" your comment would read

Yes, I don't think there is any one true [belief system], they are all as fake as each other, just some more dangerous.

Is this statement part of your belief system?

If so shouldn't we reject it as part of a fake system?

21

Damaging Children With the Christian Gospel

by cofty in

the christian gospel begins with the dehumanising assertion that all humans are fallen sinners who deserve nothing but god's judgement and wrath.. not only does this taint all relationships between christians and unbelievers, it destroys the beautiful innocence of childhood.

in a recent edition of the popular christian radio program "family life today", titled “introducing your child to god,” co-host bob lepine discussed teaching “practical theology” to his young daughter, explaining:.

when my daughter, amy, was still less than two years old, i started teaching practical theology to her.

hooberus

If atheism is true aren't children simply a soulless bag of atoms?

The result of random copying mistakes filtered by purposeless differential survival?

39

Evolution is a Fact #12 - Lenski's E. coli Experiment

by cofty in

evolution works by the non-random selection of random mutation.

natural selection accumulates favourable random chance events.. the experiment that was began on 24th february 1988 on e coli bacteria by dr richard e. lenski and his team is surely one of the clearest demonstrations of the power of this process.. e.coli is one of the commonest bacterium on earth, there is around 100 billion, billion of them in the world at any given time and around 1 billion of them in your gut right now.

most of the time they cause no problem, until a new strain wreaks havoc on its host's digestive system.. if we assume the probability of a particular gene mutating to be 1 in a billion, the size of the population is so high that just about every gene in the e.coli genome will have mutated somewhere in the world every day.

hooberus

you didn't even read the OP did you Hooby?

Ugh, yes I did.

39

Evolution is a Fact #12 - Lenski's E. coli Experiment

by cofty in

evolution works by the non-random selection of random mutation.

natural selection accumulates favourable random chance events.. the experiment that was began on 24th february 1988 on e coli bacteria by dr richard e. lenski and his team is surely one of the clearest demonstrations of the power of this process.. e.coli is one of the commonest bacterium on earth, there is around 100 billion, billion of them in the world at any given time and around 1 billion of them in your gut right now.

most of the time they cause no problem, until a new strain wreaks havoc on its host's digestive system.. if we assume the probability of a particular gene mutating to be 1 in a billion, the size of the population is so high that just about every gene in the e.coli genome will have mutated somewhere in the world every day.

hooberus

Anyone can read the short posted article and its references. If you still think that the O.P. provides proof that the evolutionists claimed version of history is true over creation than that's fine.

Evolutionits claim to be purely evidence based, yet any information presented questioning evolutionary claims is immediately dismissed (Here as coming from "bullshit" -see also coftys response to links on his "10 questions for creationists" thread where the creation research society was dismissed as a "bullshit" website as well.

And evolutionists think it as some sort of great evidence when no one wants to take their TIME to dialogue with them.

39

Evolution is a Fact #12 - Lenski's E. coli Experiment

by cofty in

evolution works by the non-random selection of random mutation.

natural selection accumulates favourable random chance events.. the experiment that was began on 24th february 1988 on e coli bacteria by dr richard e. lenski and his team is surely one of the clearest demonstrations of the power of this process.. e.coli is one of the commonest bacterium on earth, there is around 100 billion, billion of them in the world at any given time and around 1 billion of them in your gut right now.

most of the time they cause no problem, until a new strain wreaks havoc on its host's digestive system.. if we assume the probability of a particular gene mutating to be 1 in a billion, the size of the population is so high that just about every gene in the e.coli genome will have mutated somewhere in the world every day.

hooberus

I don't post articles for the Evo-dogmatists here.

39

Evolution is a Fact #12 - Lenski's E. coli Experiment

by cofty in

evolution works by the non-random selection of random mutation.

natural selection accumulates favourable random chance events.. the experiment that was began on 24th february 1988 on e coli bacteria by dr richard e. lenski and his team is surely one of the clearest demonstrations of the power of this process.. e.coli is one of the commonest bacterium on earth, there is around 100 billion, billion of them in the world at any given time and around 1 billion of them in your gut right now.

most of the time they cause no problem, until a new strain wreaks havoc on its host's digestive system.. if we assume the probability of a particular gene mutating to be 1 in a billion, the size of the population is so high that just about every gene in the e.coli genome will have mutated somewhere in the world every day.

hooberus

Some of this might be due to what would more accurately be described as "devolution" rather than supporting unequivocally the evolutionists claimed version of history over creation.

http://www.icr.org/article/evolutions-top-example-topples

160

Beliefs About What Caused the Universe

by Perry in

the universe can be observed to be expanding.. an expanding universe must have had a beginning.

whatever begins to exist had a cause.

therefore the universe had a cause.

hooberus

From the O.P.

"Whatever begins to exist had a cause."

ONLY if Perry advocated a creator that began to exist (i.e. not eternal) would he be inconsistent-which he is not doing.

160

Beliefs About What Caused the Universe

by Perry in

the universe can be observed to be expanding.. an expanding universe must have had a beginning.

whatever begins to exist had a cause.

therefore the universe had a cause.

hooberus

Perry: every argument you make for something needing a beginning is a contradiction and an argument against your own belief in a super being with no beginning.

So carry on, tell us more about the god that can't exist based on your own logic.

Actually I think he is referring to the fact that everything that HAS A BEGINNING has a cause.

There is nothing in that argument that is referring to subjects which have no beginning.

So there is nothing that requires the argument to also apply to an eternal God.

160

Beliefs About What Caused the Universe

by Perry in

the universe can be observed to be expanding.. an expanding universe must have had a beginning.

whatever begins to exist had a cause.

therefore the universe had a cause.

hooberus

Quit being consistent with observation and the laws of Thermodynamics Perry and just accept "science"!