Here’s an abstract from the Journal of Physics tackling the issue of “knottiness” in polymeric chains. Notice that the authors were able to “design” sequences which either knotted up all the time or did not knot, using polymer lengths of 500. Now, I wonder what the odds of arriving at a sequence which does “not knot” randomly? (1 in 20^500) And, if you couldn’t get beyond the knotting up of a protein molecule, then how could life continue? Everyday experience shows that strings easily knot. Preventing this requires careful folding or winding when stowing away. Molecular ropes, like polymer chains, can suffer the same fate, but that is not true for biopolymers like proteins and DNA; despite their complex folded Read More ›

This post is NOT about global warming.  It is about the credulity of some religious fanatics who, ironically, pose as paragons of scientific skepticism.  Global warming alarmists often call skeptics of global warming alarmism “science deniers.”  The idea seems to be that the alarmists are the sober-minded champions of dispassionate science, and the skeptics are benighted opponents of scientific endeavor. The reality is, of course, oftentimes just the opposite, as a recent exchange with wd400 illustrates. In a previous post I noted how the recent “2014 Warmest Year on Record” headlines were almost certainly false.  The alleged record consisted of a .02C increase when the margin of error of the measurement was 0.1C.  In other words, the alleged increase was Read More ›

  A couple of months ago I quoted from Lesli Orgel’s 1973 book on the origins of life.  L. E. Orgel, The Origins of Life: Molecules and Natural Selection (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; New York, 1973).  I argued that on page 189 of that book Orgel used the term “specified complexity” in a way almost indistinguishable from the way Bill Dembski has used the term in his work.  Many of my Darwinian interlocutors demurred.  They argued the quotation was taken out of context and that Orgel meant something completely different from Dembski.  I decided to order the book and find out who was right.  Below, I have reproduced the entire section in which the original quotation appeared.  I will Read More ›