gdp's Comments

Wonderful Life : Alfred Russel Wallace's Letter from Ternate

Fri, 16 Aug 2013 03:32:58 +0000

Hi George - I hope I didn't attribute that opinion to you - but I've seen that opinion elsewhere. My own view is that for the public Wallace has been somewhat eased out of the history - and his 'reinstatement' is probably a good thing. I've been enjoying reading the Wallace-related sites I linked to.

Wonderful Life : Discovery Institute takes the wedge strategy to UK schools

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 08:57:37 +0000

Don't be silly.

Wonderful Life : The Edinburgh Science Festival, Creationism and the Centre for Intelligent Design

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:18:14 +0000

Well, it might be an interesting experience. I have been looking at some of Jason Rosenhouse's experiences at US creationist conferences. I'm unlikely to be in Edinburgh in October, unfortunately!

Wonderful Life : The Edinburgh Science Festival, Creationism and the Centre for Intelligent Design

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:17:36 +0000

Well, it might be an interesting experience. I have been looking at some of Jason Rosenhouse's experiences at US creationist conferences. I'm unlikely to be in Edinburgh in October, unfortunately!

Wonderful Life : No Signature in the Cell

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:17:51 +0000

I read the Szostak (2003) article - I didn't find it terribly useful, quite brief and more of a small 'idea' article. His 2007 paper ( Hazen et al) is rather more thought provoking, and really codifies quite neatly how one might think of functionality in sequence. Unfortunately as I've never used Avida, I couldn't come to judgements about that specific discussion. I have yet to find time to read the Durston paper. To be honest, I didn't think that the Hazen concept of functional information corresponds with Meyer's (which isn't really defined in his book) - it's a lot more coherent for a start. But I'll look at the relevant sections of Signature again, once I've read Dunston. In any event, assertions that there are no known mechanisms where new genetic information can arise in biological systems are clearly false. Meyer's claim remains that natural processes can not have led to the appearance of replicating systems. One assumes that one version of an intelligent designer is that a supernatural entity established primitive replicating systems on Earth and then left it to run on.

Wonderful Life : No Signature in the Cell

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:07:24 +0000

I don't think Meyer's arguments have validity, regardless of his religious beliefs.

Wonderful Life : No Signature in the Cell

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:06:09 +0000

Well, my modification to your analogy assumed you would realise that I was merely illustrating that duplication followed by divergence did yield additional information. In the case of duplicated genes, subsequent random sequence changes (mutation) coupled with natural selection (and random drift) leads to divergence between the genes and ultimately increase in genetic information. There is evidence for all these processes.

Wonderful Life : No Signature in the Cell

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:43:00 +0000

IDproponent: I think depends on the definition of information. In the case of genetic information, duplication of gene(s) gives rise to material upon which subsequent sequence divergence can be acted on by selection (and by drift) to lead to two distinct but related genes. One needs to think of events as chains of events. To take your analogy, if a student copies another student's essay, then introduces modifications while the original student modifies his/her essay in different ways, then yes information has increased by any measure. But I think this misses Meyer's claims, which are that science has not explained the origin of biological information bearing molecules, but that it can never do. He then invokes an unknown creator with supernatural powers to do the job. I think (though I am no specialist in origon of life) that science has formulated many hypotheses of processes that may have given rise to biological information, not all of which are given full consideration by Meyer, who also supposes that components of life had to leap into existence in a more or less fully functional state.

Wonderful Life : No Signature in the Cell

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:44:08 +0000

I see duplication of genes. In the literature I see generation of novel genes by duplication and gene fusion. This is increase in genetic information.

I am a molecular geneticist, this is genetic information. Increasing.

Wonderful Life : No Signature in the Cell

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:57:02 +0000

Please supply the citations for the papers by Szostak, Hazen et al and Durston et al. I am a molecular geneticist, and I can see genetic information within a species increasing by segmental duplication. Within phylogenetic analyses, one can see the effects of duplication of chromosomes and whole genomes as a route to increasing the amount of genetic information. And if you think this is not a route to increasing 'functional' information you reveal your ignorance: duplicated genes diverge in sequence in function.

Wonderful Life : I've been busy...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:39:28 +0000

It is a bit of a struggle, wading through one straw man argument after another. About 280 pages, and he's beginning to mention design.

Wonderful Life : Intelligent Design Creationists and the Meyer lecture

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:29:44 +0000

In response to some of the comments here, and also because of the paucity of work from Meyer in the peer reviewed journals, I am presently reading 'Signature in the Cell'. A review will appear in this blog in due course. I am presently about a third of the way through the text. It is the Kindle version, and I'm not very impressed by how Harper have set this thing up. No hyperlinks to the notes and the Bibliography is incomplete (nothing from A through to Dembski).

Notes from an Evil Burnee : More Christian double-speak

Thu, 5 Jan 2012 06:31:16 +0000

Are those quotations representative of Craig's argumentation? Does he really rely on bullshittery of that type?

Wonderful Life : Intelligent Design Creationists and the Meyer lecture

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 14:19:25 +0000

Apologies, the comment system seems a bit random in where it places comments. Jacob, do you somehow believe that the entire international biological/biomedical research community (involving individuals of many faiths and of none) are collectively deluding themselves into accepting the reality of the evolutionary explanations of the diversity of life? The evidence of around a million publications annually is consistent with if not directly addressing evolutionary theory. If you don't have a background in biology or a related science, do you have a chance in comprehending this evidence? The evidence is there. Really.

Wonderful Life : Intelligent Design Creationists and the Meyer lecture

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 14:12:07 +0000

Interestingly, I went to a research seminar in which (as far as I recall) the lab had added an additional codon, and engineered a tRNA to match, which enabled the incorporation of an unnatural amino acid within a living system. It's not straightforward. http://tinyurl.com/c4zm7uj

Wonderful Life : Intelligent Design Creationists and the Meyer lecture

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 14:08:33 +0000

I suppose that if one proved the existence of a supernatural entity, it would cease being supernatural :-) One of the things about science is that questions always remain. It's one of the things that makes it attractive. But just because the scientific approach hasn't (yet) figured out how life did begin (insofar as I actually can) doesn't mean that it can't or that we should give up and fall into the arms of a designer. I can understand the difficulties in understanding the origins of life. But, really, there is a HUGE mount of evidence for evolution as the explanation for life's diversity. To take as an example, one can (by comparing DNA sequences - and therefore protein sequences - of different extant taxa) infer phylogenetic relationships between sequences. We can see homology in protein sequence and function, by a number of experimental approaches. I don't know anything about you or your education in biology (this is not meant as an insult), so I don't really know where to go here other than observing that there IS a heck of a lot of data that underpins evolutionary biology as a discipline. This is why researcher almost universally accept evolution as the explanation of life's diversity.

Wonderful Life : Intelligent Design Creationists and the Meyer lecture

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 12:55:21 +0000

I have no interest in discrediting Meyer. I merely think his argument from incredulity does not hold water. The central issue here is that Meyer believes that the genetic system is so unlikely (on the basis of mangled information theory) that a magic being must have directed it. Meyer's argument really is no advance over Paley's watchmaker. In contrast, I say we don't yet have a clear picture of the origins of life (and may never have), but that many investigators are seeking to clarify the chemical processes. I know which approach is more logical: the 'let's try and find out' approach over the 'let's give up and praise the designer' approach of Meyer. Incidentally, from your reading of Signature in the Cell, would you say Meyer believes the genetic system we ended up with is the only possible genetic mechanism that might have arisen? At no point in my blog have I addressed the content of Meyer's book - remember I haven't read it. I prefer to engage with the published literature, where science is discussed and issues resolved by professional scientists with the relevant expertise. There is precious little peer-reviewed literature on intelligent design.

Wonderful Life : Intelligent Design Creationists and the Meyer lecture

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 12:41:12 +0000

No. If Meyer mangles information theory to make a point about the origin of life, then his inference becomes rather flaky. In common with many ID creationists, this is an attempt to look authoritative. Unfortunately Meyer tries to operate outside his area expertise.

Wonderful Life : Intelligent Design Creationists and the Meyer lecture

Fri, 9 Dec 2011 04:32:41 +0000

Upright BiPed - goodbye.

Wonderful Life : Intelligent Design Creationists and the Meyer lecture

Thu, 8 Dec 2011 18:14:43 +0000

I'm afraid I am too busy to spend too much time over at the ridiculous uncommon descent blog. I have read much of the correspondence regarding Larry Moran's views on 'junk DNA', and I have to say my views are pretty much aligned with his. To what level have you studied biology, and in which of the biological sciences?