More Denton: Reply to David (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, August 13, 2015, 23:56 (3181 days ago) @ dhw


> dhw: In a few thousand million years' time, it is believed that the Earth will die, just as all planets and stars eventually die. The game is probably less than halfway through, and you believe you already know the outcome. If bacteria could speak English, they would probably say something like: “He who laughs last....”-We have no idea what God has planned next in His next universe, but he has allowed each of us to enjoy a lifetime.
> 
> dhw: I already said that you disagreed with it. My point is that “you can't tell the difference” does not support either opinion, and can therefore only be used to justify NOT making a decision.-Which I fully understand is your choice.-> 
> dhw: Ah BBella, blessed are the peacemakers, but you have fallen for the obfuscation. There is a colossal difference between organisms automatically obeying instructions, and organisms acting of their own accord. An automaton does not work anything out for itself. David's “guided” entails precise preprogramming or personal intervention by a special being that he calls God. For example, our famous weaverbird's nest: David tells us God preprogrammed the first cells (which you don't believe anyway) so that billions of years later some of their descendants would become weaverbirds and would build intricate nests according to his design. Alternatively, God intervened to tell the weaverbird how to do it. My own alternative hypothesis is that weaverbirds initially worked it out for themselves, and when they got it right, passed on the formula to succeeding generations. Small difference?-Guidelines are not a rigid as you describe. An architect goes to school and learns guidelines of his craft. I promise you my house does not look like yours, but we both had architects using guidelines. 
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> Dhw: (to Tony): (Extinction can be explained simply by some organisms being more intelligent/inventive/adaptable than others.)
> DAVID: David Raup...in his book “Extinctions”, found it was in the vast majority of cases just bad luck.
> 
> dhw: I agree - it would be bad luck on some to have less “intelligence” than others. But I'd be surprised if you agreed. I thought you believed God was always in control of evolution, with his preprogramming and dabbling, but if he deliberately preprogrammed some organisms to survive, leaving others to perish, that is not luck. On the other hand, if he left it to chance to decide which organisms would and which wouldn't survive, he wasn't in control. But perhaps you only quoted Raup for fun.-No, I've read his book thoroughly and understood that luck plays a major role. I don't know if God hurled the Chicxulub or it just happened.