Intelligent Design vs. Accidental Origin

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Intelligent Designvs. Accidental Origin

• The Origin of Information
• And the Genetic Code in DNA
• By Timothy D. Boyle

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Aims of this presentation

• The Issue Can undirected natural processes alone
  produce information, such as is stored in DNA?
• The Evidence How DNA works and why intelligent
  input is required for its existence.
• The Conclusion An intelligence vastly superior
  to us is behind it all.

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What Is DNA?
The most compact information storage system in
existence. One teaspoon of DNA could hold the
design information of all species of life that
have ever existed and still have room to encode
every book that has ever been written.
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Video Clip from Unlocking the Mystery of Life.

• (please stand by)

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The Universal Genetic Code

• The 64 codons code for the 20 amino acids that
  make up all proteins

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Similarity to Computer Codes and Braille

• Storage of information in a computer Long series
  of 0s and 1s arranged in groups of 8 (1
  byte). 256 combinations
• 01100011 10011001 00110010 10100110 10101010

Braille Series of raised dots (or no dots)
arranged in groups of 6. 64 possible
combinations for one Braille character codon
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Redundancy in the Genetic Code

• An example
• AUG,CAG,CAG,UUU,GAA,GUG,GCA,CUG,CAC,UUC,GGU,CAC,UG
  U,CAC,UGC,CUG,ACA,UGU,CUA,CUG,GCG,ACC,GAG,CAG,CCC,
  UAC,CUC,ACA,GAU,UGA

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Junk DNA?

• Genes sections of DNA that code for proteins

• Non-coding DNA Previously thought to be junk
  (baggage) imperfections resulting from random
  chemical processes

• Now understood to perform critical functions,
  such as regulating genes

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DNA The Language of Creation

• What constitutes a language?
• DNA has these same components

Encoding system (alphabet) Grammar Meaning Intent
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Naturalisms Response

• Natural patterns of great complexity
• While a snow flake may be very intricate on a
  macro scale, it is only a simple, repeating
  pattern on a micro scale.

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Patterns versus Designs

• Whats the difference between these two?

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Self-organization and the 2nd Law of
Thermodynamics

• Self-organizing properties in nature
• Chemical properties right environment time
  patterns
• Huge gap between patterns and designs the
  Information Gap

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Chance versus Intention Repetitive Patterns
versus Specified Complexity

• ????????

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Where does information come from?

• Matter and energy all by themselves cannot
  produce information. They can only serve as a
  medium for storing or transporting information.
• Information cannot be created without intent.
• There are no examples of information that are
  created without intent.

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Dimensions of Design

• Matter and Energy are analogous to spatial
  dimension of length and width.
• If one were limited to only two dimensions of
  space, ones mobility (creativity) would be
  severely restricted.
• Information is like the 3rd dimension of space.
  It allows for almost infinite creativity.

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Three Kinds of Evolution

• 1. Deliberate Mutation Natural Selection
  Time Design

2. Random Mutation Deliberate Selection
Time Design
3. Random Mutation Natural Selection Time
Design? (Darwinian Evolution)
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Dobzhanskis Fruit Fly Mutation Experiments

• Only defective fruit flies produced
• Conclusion Random Mutation Natural Selection
  Time ?
• The probability of extinction vastly exceeds that
  of evolutionary advance.

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Random mutations always destroy information

• Information created from the top down never the
  bottom up.
• Mutations work only from the bottom up.
• Noise (mutations) never improves the signal.

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The Blind Watchmaker ?

• Richard Dawkins example Begins with random
  letters and gets a line from Shakespeare
  Methinks it is like a weasel.
• But this is not true Darwinian evolution. It is
  like Scrabble (random mutations deliberate
  selection)

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Design at Every Level

• Atomic Scale DNA
• Astronomical Scale The Universe
• Requires either design in properties (fine
  tuning) or design in information content (and
  often both are present).

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Conclusion

• Of the two choices available to us, chance or
  design, both must be accepted on faith.
• Unless ruled out for philosophical reasons,
  design is the obvious choice.
• Design points to purpose. We are not a dumb
  accident. The Creator has a purpose in mind.

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Appendix Is this a God-of-the-gaps argument?
A God-of-the-gaps argument is based on what we
dont know.
The Design Inference is based on what we do
know.
Naturalism actually employs a no-God-of-the-gaps
argument.
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Methodological Naturalism
The claim is that science can only function on
the basis of methodological naturalism
This is true for empirical science but not
necessarily true for historical science (the
history of life).