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To: Nebullis; Alamo-Girl
By contrast, DNA is a random string of atoms - the ‘aperiodic crystal famously predicted by Schrödinger (1944) - and so has high algorithmic information content; it is then hard to see how such an entity could be a product of law alone. In this respect it is worth noting that although the backbone structure of DNA is determined by the laws of physics and chemistry, the precise sequence of nucleotides the ‘letters of the genetic alphabet are not. There are no chemical bonds between successive nucleotides; chemistry is indifferent to the sequence chosen... -quoted by Alamo-Girl-

This gets me every time. Chemistry and, most certainly physical laws, are not indifferent to the sequence chosen.

Totally false. The power of DNA is that the different 'letters' can be arranged in any way possible. This is shown by a simple table of how the symbols in the DNA code are translated into amino acids. All 64 possible combinations have been found to be used in life.

Paul Davies is not aware that the DNA molecule interacts with a whole host of molecules in the environment, using laws of chemistry and physics.

I am sure he is quite aware of it. In fact that is what makes DNA so special - the code, to be useful and sustain life, has to be arranged in such a way as to provide for the functions needed for life. These functions have to be in accordance with the rest of reality and it has to take account of how this is to be accomplished. So you have it absolutely backwards - like most materialists and evolutionists. You are going from what exists and are saying that because something exists the means for its existance had to have arisen deterministically. This is totally false backwards. The effect is not the source of the cause. The determinists are dependent on this fact. You might not be aware, and, apparently, Paul Davies is not aware that the DNA molecule interacts with a whole host of molecules in the environment, using laws of chemistry and physics. It's especially foolish to use this silly canard with respect to an argument about determinism. I'll boil down what his argument amounts to. Life is not dependent on universal laws because a particular reaction is not dependent on specific chemical bonds. He's making a gross generalization error based on anectdotal information.

4,552 posted on 01/11/2003 11:40:22 AM PST by gore3000
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To: gore3000
Totally false. The power of DNA is that the different 'letters' can be arranged in any way possible.

So can the letters of the english alphabet, but we seldom find them in random distribution because such a document would be deselected.

4,567 posted on 01/11/2003 4:07:31 PM PST by js1138
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To: gore3000
Thank you so much for your post at 4552!

The last six sentences are the last six sentences that Nebullis posted at 4529. Was your message truncated or something?

I suspect I created a communications problem from the onset by cutting the excerpt too narrowly at 4507. I added some key missing paragraphs at 4531 which addressed the chemistry issue.

4,582 posted on 01/11/2003 8:24:57 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
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