By all means expound on what Dembski's 'explanatory filter', is and show an example of it being used successfully elsewhere in the mathematical literature.
In determining design, we are concerned about knowing the possible explanations for a pattern. This is part of the "side information" that Dr. Dembski talks about.
Dembski claims design can be detected by means of 'complex specified information'. Specified information is information which follws a pattern which we specify right now; not a means by which that information could have arisen. Of course, I disagree that we can possibly specify a pattern that could not have arisen by thermodynamic processes regardless of mechanism, unless formation of that pattern violates the Second Law; and in fact the entropy of life is quite small.
You seem to think that it is impossible to determine if artifacts are natural or man-made?
If they have 'made in Japan' stamped on them, certainly. You have a fossil with 'made by God, 4004 BC' engraved on the inside of the skull?
Less flippantly, I see nothing in the natural worlds that impels me to believe it could not have been created by natural processes.
Do you think there is no scientific basis for determining intelligent life?What do you think about the SETI projects?
Not as easy as it might seem. You are familiar, of course, with the Turing test?