Both of you have made some good points and has really helped me in understanding what 'natural selection' is all about.
thank you.
I still wonder tho if a mathematical formula is discovered in our biological makeup that shows a definate pattern for life, would that be proof of ID or would that only confirm evolution is not a 'random' selection but process with a specific pattern.
I only ask because I did see a program about a scientist who claims that our biological makeup seemed to be structured rather than random.
His point was that there seemed to be a definate 'design' to it.
But I still wonder if the design was really the result of evolution and not the result of a 'blueprint'.
If evidence that supports ID is discovered, then ID will become a serious scientific idea. Until then, the theory of evolution does the job, without the need to resort to an unidentified, unseen, and unevidenced agency.
The great yin/yang of evolution is phenotype/genotype. In a layman's nutshell, phenotype is everything about you that can be changed by your life's circumstances while genotype is that which is programmed by your genes and can't be changed.
Nothing is evolution is strictly random. The closest to random is the 'variation' part of evolution and even that occurs in some areas of the genome more frequently than in others. Selection is by no means random and is basically just math. I have 4 kids, you have 10. My kids have 4 kids each, your kids have 10 kids each and so on. Who's genes are going to dominate the population we live in, yours or mine?
"I only ask because I did see a program about a scientist who claims that our biological makeup seemed to be structured rather than random.
There are many IDists that claim that. However their entire philosophy and methodology is based on an argument from incredulity and a false dichotomy. They can't imagine that evolution could do what it does so therefore it didn't do it. If evolution didn't do it then it must be designed.
"His point was that there seemed to be a definate 'design' to it.
Complexity occurs in the human design world. Simplicity occurs in the human design world. Complexity occurs in nature. Simplicity occurs in nature.
"But I still wonder if the design was really the result of evolution and not the result of a 'blueprint'.
That is a good question. However you did say evolution in both cases. Evolution is limited to the examination and explanation of natural phenomena as it applies to living organisms. How life came about is not and can not be addressed by evolution. If some designer started the whole thing off, so be it. That in itself does not mean that natural evolution is not capable of producing the variation in species we see.
Just as a small point, the arrangement of genes and highly preserved non-coding areas of the genome, along with development processes suggests that the genome is a recipe rather than a blueprint.