New Oxygen research; pre-Ediacaran (Introduction)

by dhw, Thursday, July 21, 2016, 13:00 (2838 days ago) @ David Turell

QUOTE: How great is the probability that 6000 bits of functional information can be generated in a window time of less than 100 million years, by some unguided process of RV + NS in six objects connected in an irreducibly complex system, even if RV were really helped by some NS in intermediates of which there is no trace? The answer is simple: practically non existent. - I'm not going to pretend that I understand all the technicalities of this, but the gist is very clear, and it simply takes no account of a possible alternative to an “unguided process” and your God's dabbling. I doubt if anyone has any evidence that 100 million years is not enough time for sentient, cognitive, cooperative intelligent organisms (NB your God may have given them their intelligence) to generate enough functional information to produce their own evolution.
 
David's comment: the whole article is very complex, but this summary is quite clear. It is all too complex except for mental planning. See especially his description of neuron organization in the embryology of the brain: (an excerpt) - "The migration of neurons along glial fibers from a germinal zone (GZ) to their final laminar positions is essential for morphogenesis of the developing brain, aberrations in this process are linked to profound neurodevelopmental and cognitive disorders. During this critical morphogenic movement, neurons must navigate complex migration paths, propelling their cell bodies through the dense cellular environment of the developing nervous system to their final destinations. It is not understood how neurons can successfully migrate along their glial guides through the myriad processes and cell bodies of neighboring neurons. Although much progress has been made in understanding the substrates (1-4), guidance mechanisms (5-7), cytoskeletal elements (8-10), and post-translational modifications (11-13) required for neuronal migration, we have yet to elucidate how neurons regulate their cellular interactions and adhesive specificity to follow the appropriate migratory pathways." (My bold)
 - There is probably no way this process can be described without recourse to cognitive terms, but that does not mean they cannot be taken literally. Every single activity, adaptation and innovation requires cooperation between the cell communities, and this means some kind of awareness of and adjustment to what other cells are doing. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that when neurons navigate, propel themselves, successfully migrate, and especially regulate their interactions, they know what they are doing. No, they will not philosophize, or compose sonnets, or question the purpose of their existence, but they may well work together with other cells to create something new.