chance and selection

From: Bertvan@aol.com
Date: Fri Nov 17 2000 - 18:39:11 EST

  • Next message: Susan Brassfield Cogan: "Re: chance and selection"

    To: Susan-Brassfield@ou.edu (Susan Cogan)

    Bertvan:

    >>http://www.scientificamerican.com/2000/0600issue/0600pawson.html

    >>Anyone who believes all this came together by chance mutation and natural
    >>selection would believe in Santa and tooth fairies.

    Susan:
    >Thanks for posting this, it's very good. However, you'd better keep
    >an eye out for the Jolly Old Elf. This is from the article:

    >"From an evolutionary perspective, the advent of a modular signaling
    >system would be very useful to cells. By mixing and matching existing
    >modules, a cell can generate many molecules and combinations of
    >molecules and can build an array of interconnected pathways without
    >having to invent a huge repertoire of building blocks. What is more,
    >when a new module does arise, its combination with existing modules
    >can increase versatility tremendously--just as adding a new area
    >code to a city turns already assigned phone numbers into entirely new
    >ones for added customers."

    >From randomness comes great creativity. What's wrong with that?

    Hi Susan,
    There is nothing wrong with it, IF creativity actually comes from randomness.
     Do you believe these "modules of signaling systems" themselves arose by
    chance? I don't think we understand creativity enough to know where it comes
    from. I personally doubt any intelligent system could arise by chance. Cell
    communication, which was what the article is about, involves communication of
    specific information between cells (intelligence). Random signals are
    meaningless. Any system, even a "module", would have to already be rational,
    complex and functioning before natural selection would have anything to
    select.

    Having realized you are an icon of courtesy and consideration, Susan,
    compared to other "evolutionists", I vowed I would respond to all you posts.
    If you answered my last post on that other discussion group, I never saw it.
    All my posts were deleted, presumable for being "intentionally ignorant" and
    provoking the "evolutionists" to profanity. I didn't use profanity, but
    apparently I provided overwhelming provocation for others to emit long
    strings of "asshole", "liar", "crap", "bullshit", etc. (I concede that they
    were all very polite to as long as no one disagreed with them.)

    Bertvan
    http://members.aol.com/bertvan



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