Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

The Lesson of H. pylori

William Dembski
October 9, 2005
Intelligent Design, Science
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The Nobel Prize in medicine this year is for the discovery of H. pylori‘s role in ulcers. The scientific community’s reception of this discovery should give us pause about the continuing controversy over ID. When Robin Warren and Barry Marshall first claimed that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori plays a key role in the development of both stomach and intestinal ulcers, they were roundly ridiculed. So much so that Marshall actually infected himself to prove the point:

Dr Marshall proved that H. pylori caused gastic inflammation by deliberately infecting himself with the bacterium. The Nobel citation praises the doctors for their tenacity, and willingness to challenge prevailing dogmas. . . . [At the time] stress and lifestyle were considered the major causes of stomach and intestinal ulcers.

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Comments
I would think that an infinite sequence of designers would run into the problem of infinite causal regress.mark_sprengel
October 15, 2005
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[ ... The other side, by contrast, claims now to know that ID could not possibly be correct. –WmAD] Assuming ID could is correct, and an intelligent designer exists, could we apply the filter to it? Is the result an infinite sequence of designers or does the sequence terminate in a Deity? Is there something which prevents you applying the filter to the designer? It seems such an obvious step to make.steve_h
October 11, 2005
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[...] I thought this was pretty fascinating. Before Robin Warren’s and Barry Marshall’s discovery in 1982, it was pretty much a given that ulcers were caused by too much stress and a poor lifestyle. Even in the 90’s, when my mom had an ulcer, she was told pretty much to try to reduce her stomach acid levels and chill out a bit. This was so much the case that, [...]Neumatikos » Nobel for Discoverers of Ulcer Bacteria
October 10, 2005
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If im not mistaken he injected himself with that bacteria right... ouch. kind of a painfull way to make his point.Could you imagine if he was trying to make a point about something more life threatining ?. i would like to see one of these type of researchers do this in the field of something like regeneration. would someone cut of their finger or arm to prove his/her ideas were correct ?. i dunno. got a give this guy 2 thumps up for effort I'd say. CharlieCharliecrs
October 9, 2005
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Hear, hear!crandaddy
October 9, 2005
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The lesson seems to be: If the science is worth doing, it is worth doing the science.Alan Fox
October 9, 2005
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Nobel for Discoverers of Ulcer Bacteria BBC News: Two Australian scientists have been awarded the Nobel prize for medicine for their discovery that stomach ulcers can be caused by a bacterial infection. I thought this was pretty fascinating. Before Robin Warren’s and Barry Mars...Neumatikos
October 9, 2005
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Maybe the lessons are that claims alone are not enough, and that scientists can be persuaded to accept new ideas if presented with objective evidence. I notice that instead of placing stickers on text books, or attacking mainstream scientists with appeals to ignorance, these guys actually made some testable predictions of their own and performed tests which could have shown their hypothesis to have been wrong. However, I suspect the lesson you intended is that science was wrong about ulcers, therefore I.D. is correct now. [No, not that ID is correct now, but that it may prove to be correct. The other side, by contrast, claims now to know that ID could not possibly be correct. --WmAD]steve_h
October 9, 2005
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[...] From Uncommon Descent: The Nobel Prize in medicine this year is for the discovery of H. pylori’s role in ulcers. The scientific community’s reception of this discovery should give us pause about the continuing controversy over ID. When Robin Warren and Barry Marshall first claimed that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori plays a key role in the development of both stomach and intestinal ulcers, they were roundly ridiculed. So much so that Marshall actually infected himself to prove the point: [...]sree.us » Dembski on the recent Nobel Prize in Medicine
October 9, 2005
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