Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

Rob Sheldon: The quantum effects shown in large molecules may make theories like the multiverse testable

Sheldon: "By measuring a hot stream of molecules with billions of states, this experiment may rule out CSL [Continuous Spontaneous Localization]. If so, it would be the first time an interpretation of QM was actually invalidated, suggesting we have entered a new era of testing theories of the foundations of QM." Read More ›

New Research on Animal Egg Orientation

When the first cell of an animal—the zygote—divides, it usually has a front end, and a back end, and this orientation will influence how the embryo develops. This orientation is inherited from the egg, where certain gene products are deposited, often at the front end of the egg. These so-called … read more

US AG Barr on the importance of religious liberty

Here (as updated): Money clip: The imperative of protecting religious freedom was not just a nod in the direction of piety. It reflects the framers’ belief that religion was indispensable to sustaining our free system of government . . . ” Food for thought. END F/N, U/D: Prepared text, found. I think he mostly read the speech, let us clip and discuss below. PS: First, a different view on political spectra (than where one sat in the French legislature 200 years ago or thereabouts): Next, Aquinas on law, as summarised: Third, Schaeffer’s line of despair analysis, as adjusted and extended: Let’s add on straight vs spin

Our enterprising ancestors’ version of canned soup, 400 kya

"We show for the first time in our study that 420,000 to 200,000 years ago, prehistoric humans at Qesem Cave were sophisticated enough, intelligent enough and talented enough to know that it was possible to preserve particular bones of animals under specific conditions, and, when necessary, remove the skin, crack the bone and eat the bone marrow," Prof. Gopher explains Read More ›

Bacteria thrive via non-Darwinian “survival of the friendliest”

"In the classic Darwinian mindset, competition is the name of the game. The best suited survive and outcompete those less well suited. However, when it comes to microorganisms like bacteria, our findings reveal the most cooperative ones survive," explains Department of Biology microbiologist, Professor Søren Johannes Sørensen. Read More ›

Is Mathematics falling under the sway of a computerised, AI-driven celebrity-authority culture?

Two recent remarks in VICE (a telling label, BTW) raise some significant concerns. First, Kevin Buzzard — no, this is not Babylon Bee [itself a sign when it is harder and harder to tell reality from satire] — Sept 26th: Number Theorist Fears All Published Math Is Wrong “I think there is a non-zero chance that some of our great castles are built on sand,” he said, arguing that we must begin to rely on AI to verify proofs. [ . . . ] Kevin Buzzard, a number theorist and professor of pure mathematics at Imperial College London, believes that it is time to create a new area of mathematics dedicated to the computerization of proofs. The greatest proofs have Read More ›

Nathaniel Comfort, fresh off an op-ed in Nature, skewers pop Darwinian Steven Pinker

It’s getting so that Darwinians are being treated like ordinary folk who could actually be wrong about some things. What is the world coming to? Where is Queen Umpadeedle when they need her? Read More ›