Transcript Intelligent Design vs. Dumb Accident?

Intelligent Design
vs.
Accidental Origin
The Origin of Information
And the Genetic Code in DNA
By Timothy D. Boyle
Aims of this presentation
• The Issue: Can undirected natural
processes alone produce information,
such as is stored in DNA?
• The Evidence: How DNA works and
why intelligent input is required for its
existence.
• The Conclusion: An intelligence vastly
superior to us is behind it all.
What Is DNA?
The most compact
information storage
system in existence.
One teaspoon of DNA
could hold the design
information of all
species of life that
have ever existed and
still have room to
encode every book
that has ever been
written.
Video Clip from “Unlocking
the Mystery of Life.”
(please stand by)
The Universal Genetic Code
The 64
“codons”
code for
the 20
amino
acids that
make up
all
proteins
Similarity to Computer Codes
and Braille
Storage of information in a computer: Long series
of 0’s and 1’s arranged in groups of 8 (=1 “byte”).
256 combinations
01100011 10011001 00110010 10100110 10101010
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Braille: Series of raised dots
(or no dots) arranged in
groups of 6.
64 possible combinations for
one Braille character
=“codon”
Redundancy in the Genetic Code
An example:
AUG,CAG,CAG,
UUU,GAA,GUG,
GCA,CUG,CAC,
UUC,GGU,CAC,
UGU,CAC,UGC,
CUG,ACA,UGU,
CUA,CUG,GCG,
ACC,GAG,CAG,
CCC,UAC,CUC,
ACA,GAU,UGA
“Junk” DNA?
 “Genes”: sections of DNA that code for
proteins
Non-coding DNA: Previously thought to be
“junk” (baggage) — imperfections
resulting from random chemical processes
Now understood to perform critical
functions, such as regulating genes
DNA: The Language of Creation
What constitutes a language?
Encoding system (alphabet)
Grammar
Meaning
Intent
DNA has these same components
Naturalism’s Response
Natural patterns of great
complexity
While a snow flake may be
very intricate on a macro
scale, it is only a simple,
repeating pattern on a micro
scale.
Patterns versus Designs
What’s the difference between these two?
Self-organization and the
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
Self-organizing properties in nature
Chemical properties + right
environment + time = patterns
Huge gap between patterns and
designs: the Information Gap
QuickTime™and a
TIFF(Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this pi cture.
Chance versus Intention
Repetitive Patterns versus
Specified Complexity
偶
然
と
意
図
の
違
い
Where does information come from?
Matter and energy all by themselves cannot
produce information. They can only serve as a
medium for storing or transporting information.
Information cannot be created without intent.
There are no examples of information that are
created without intent.
Dimensions of Design
Matter and Energy are analogous to
spatial dimension of length and width.
If one were limited to only two
dimensions of space, one’s mobility
(creativity) would be severely restricted.
Information is like the 3rd dimension of
space. It allows for almost infinite
creativity.
Three Kinds of “Evolution”
1. Deliberate Mutation + Natural
Selection + Time = Design
2. Random Mutation + Deliberate
Selection + Time = Design
3. Random Mutation + Natural Selection
+ Time = “Design”? (Darwinian
Evolution)
Dobzhanski’s Fruit Fly
Mutation Experiments
Only defective fruit flies produced
Conclusion: Random Mutation + Natural
Selection + Time = ?
The probability of extinction vastly exceeds
that of evolutionary advance.
Random mutations always
destroy information
 Information created from the top down
— never the bottom up.
 Mutations work only from the bottom
up.
 Noise (mutations) never improves the
signal.
The Blind Watchmaker ?
Richard Dawkins’ example: Begins
with random letters and gets a line
from Shakespeare: “Methinks it is
like a weasel.”
But this is not true Darwinian
evolution. It is like “Scrabble”
(random mutations + deliberate
selection)
Design at Every Level
◊ Atomic Scale: DNA
◊ Astronomical Scale: The Universe
◊ Requires either design in
properties (fine tuning) or design
in information content (and often
both are present).
Conclusion
Of the two choices available to us,
chance or design, both must be
accepted on faith.
Unless ruled out for philosophical
reasons, design is the obvious
choice.
Design points to purpose. We are
not a “dumb accident.” The
Creator has a purpose in mind.
Appendix: Is this a “God-of-the-gaps”
argument?
A “God-of-the-gaps” argument is based on
what we don’t know.
The “Design Inference” is based on what we do
know.
Naturalism actually employs a “no-God-of-thegaps” argument.
“Methodological Naturalism”
The claim is that science can only function
on the basis of “methodological naturalism”
This is true for “empirical science” but not
necessarily true for “historical science”
(the history of life).