Here is an interesting essay on design by Darwin’s contemporary John Stuart Mill. Question: are the molecular machines that Michael Behe identified as decisive evidence for design merely analogous to human-built machines or do they fully instantiate the concept of machine? Another question: Why should knowing the mode of implementation of design be so important to detecting its presence? If, for instance, biological designs vastly exceed human designs in technological sophistication, so that our current technology is incapable of grasping their implementation, why should that undercut our ability nonetheless to recognize their design?

John Stuart Mill
The Argument from Marks of Design in Nature
http://philosophyofreligion.info/theism7.html

We now at last reach an argument of a really scientific character, which does not shrink from scientific tests, but claims to be judged by the established canons of Induction. The Design argument is wholly grounded on experience. Certain qualities, it is alleged, are found to be characteristic of such things as are made by an intelligent mind for a purpose. The order of nature of Nature, or some considerable parts of it, exhibit these qualities in a remarkable degree. We are entitled, from this great similarity in the effects, to infer similarity in the cause, and to believe that things which it is beyond the power of man to make, but which resemble the works of man in all but power, must also have been made by Intelligence, armed with a power greater than human. Read More ›

If there’s a Nobel Prize for alarmist nincompoopery physicist Herbert Kroemer deserves it. Over on Panda’s Thumb they’re trumpeting this article with its extraordinarily hyperbolic opening claim by Kroemer The Theory of Intelligent Design, and other attacks on the science of biological evolution, are not merely attacks on the concept of evolution, but attacks on science itself — all of science. No Herb, ID only attacks bad science and only a rather restricted bit of that in that we attack the claim that evolution is understood to be an unguided, unplanned process as 38 of your Nobel brethren declared in a letter to Kansas. Pray tell, Herb. Exactly what repeatable test demonstrated that all of evolution over the course of Read More ›

I started on a new hobby several months ago. I’m trying to grow Chinese Paddy Straw mushrooms (volvariella volvacea) in semi-sterile laboratory conditions. These mushrooms are delicious fresh in the button stage tasting like olive oil and cashews to me. For various reasons they are not available fresh in the United States and only a compatively tasteless canned mushroom is for sale here. Read More ›

Since we upgraded to WordPress 2.0 we’ve gotten a couple complaints about broken RSS feeds. Our admin says RSS was part of the upgrade but all the RSS readers he’s tried are working properly. If you have a reader not working properly could you post in the comments the reader you’re using? Thanks.

Over on Telic Thoughts Jack is asking about ID’s position on common descent here, here, and here. I’m going to assume this is an honest question.

ID has no position on common descent.

ID is the theory that certain patterns in nature can be best explained by intelligent agency.

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36 ID critics were asked to answer the question below the fold. Within 27 minutes of receiving the poll Wesley Elsberry contacted everyone he thought might’ve received the poll advising them how to answer it. Wesley, for those of you who don’t know, is a prominent member of the National Center for Selling Evolution Science Education. The NCSE is an organization the U.S. Office of Special Counsel says conspired with the Smithsonian Institution to discredit Rick Sternberg in response to Sternberg allowing an ID sympathetic paper to be published in a biology journal connected with the Smithsonian.
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We often hear neoDarwinian narrative apologists tell us that they would be hamstrung in conducting their research if they didn’t know the neoDarwinian story was true. Au contraire says NAS member Phil Skell and 70 eminent researchers he asked about it recently. Read on below the fold…
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[From a biologist colleague:] Ross and Pawlina’s histology textbook (2006; ISBN 0781750563) demonstrates a remarkable ignorance of genetics (it’s otherwise a good text) in its discussion of the parietal cells in the stomach (which are the cells that make hydrochloric acid):

“Recently, it has been hypothesized that parietal cells may have originated from a bacterium called Neurospora crassa (TJ: it’s actually a fungus) that previously existed in a symbiotic relationship with the cells of the human stomach. The basis for this hypothesis is that the human proton pump (H+/K+ ATPas) found in parietal cells bears a strong genetic similarity to proton pumps found in this bacterium. The bacterial DNA is thought to have been translocated and subsequently incorporated into the nucleus of the stem cells, probably with the help of a virus.”

This seemed awfully bizarre, so I found the abstract for the original article, pasted below. Such a scenario seems to be impossible. It’s one thing for a microorganism to exist in a symbiotic relationship with the host organism. However, for such a horizontal gene transfer to take place, the DNA would have to be transferred to the gonads if the gene would be passed along to subsequent generations.

I guess that’s what happens when you assume that sequence similarity automatically means a common ancestry (of the gene). A more likely scenario is that both cells require a protein with the same function so they have a similar sequence by design.

Once again, an ID perspective seems much closer to reality than the Darwinian (Lamarckian?) just-so stories. Read More ›

. . . Everyone, it seems, has a problem with peer review at top-tier journals. The recent discrediting of stem cell work by Woo-Suk Hwang at Seoul National University sparked media debates about the system’s failure to detect fraud. Authors, meanwhile, are lodging a range of complaints: Reviewers sabotage papers that compete with their own, strong papers are sent to sister journals to boost their profiles, and editors at commercial journals are too young and invariably make mistakes about which papers to reject or accept. Still, even senior scientists are reluctant to give specific examples of being shortchanged by peer review, worrying that the move could jeopardize their future publications. . . . MORE [See also Frank Tipler’s article on Read More ›

Begging the question is a logical fallacy in which the proposition to be proved or defended is assumed implicitly or explicitly in one or more of the premises. It is a type of circular reasoning in which the truth of what one is trying to prove is assumed from the outset. One encounters a lot of question-begging arguments in defense of blind-watchmaker evolutionary theory.

Question-begging reasoning can appear in unexpected places…
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This editorial opinion reminded me of a conversation I was having with a colleague the other day about how completely misunderstood the concept of Irreducible Complexity can be to some people. When folks hear the word “complexity” they naturally assume the concept applies only to complex systems – such as the New York City economic system referenced in the article. In his example, the author claims IC is “an empty idea” because removing one business from the NYC economy does not render it non functional as IC predicts. Silly man. Viewing IC through the blinders of an extremely complex system that in fact is not IC to begin with and using that as a demonstration that IC is bogus is Read More ›

The University of California is being litigated against by the Association of Christian Schools and Calvary Chapel Christian School of Murrieta, CA for religious discrimination. See here and here. Given the confusion over the scientific status of ID and it’s incorrect conflation with creationism, how do you think this upcoming judgment might effect the teaching of ID (or not) in high schools? Is it acceptable that the force of law prohibits private schools from teaching their beliefs in addition to those driven by secular standards lest their graduating students be rejected by public universities?

Wisconsin legislator, university profs want ban of Intelligent Design in public schools Feb 8, 2006 By Art Toalston Baptist Press MADISON, Wis. (BP)–In an unprecedented political move to protect evolution, a Wisconsin state representative -– backed by 13 professors from the University of Wisconsin -– has introduced a bill that could ban the teaching of Intelligent Design and creationism in the state’s public schools. MORE

Here at last is Kansas City’s singing sensation the Mutations performing “Overwhelming Evidence”: OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE(to the tune of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” adapted by Jonathan Wells) Listen, peopleEvolution’s trueWe can promise you,Cause we’ve got evidence, people. You say our textbooks lie,But only in your eyes,Cause you’re creationists,While we are scientists.At the end of the day,The truth is what we say ­ Cause we’ve gotOverwhelming evidence,Overwhelming evidence,Overwhelming evidence ­To prove that our theory’s true. Oh, the peppered mothsAren’t where we thoughtIt’s a big mistakeAnd the photos are fake.We know it’s unreal,But it’s no big deal ­ Cause we’ve gotOverwhelming evidence,Overwhelming evidence,Overwhelming evidence ­To prove that evolution is true. Haeckel’s embryosAre not the way it goes.Fish and human partsAre different from Read More ›

When crop circles were first encountered no one seriously believed they weren’t intelligently designed. Why? Because no known or reasonably possible natural (natural defined as no intelligent agency involved) sequence of events could adequately explain how they were formed.