Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Alamo-Girl; GodGunsGuts; CottShop; tacticalogic
But the poison pill to abiogenesis in my view is the communication itself, Shannon’s mathematical theory of communication. In other words, there is no naturalistic explanation for how or why communications would arise spontaneously in a physico-chemical environment.

Indeed — there's no explanation of how "dumb" matter gets "smart." Especially in light of the observation that the algorithmic complexity of the physico-chemical laws is low, estimated by the mathematician Gregory Chaitin at 103 bits. Compare that with the algorithmic complexity of DNA, estimated at 109 bits. How does one "naturalistically" get from the former to the latter? What would be the cause for matter to suddenly start communicating, and what would it be communicating?

Darwin should have made it clear he wasn't interested in "going there," and simply taken life as axiomatic in his theory.... That way he could have had an origin of species argument without having to get into the origin of life issue. Which he himself never formally did; but his lack of clarity on the question has led to much what seems to me pointless speculation on the part of his disciples over time....

Thank you ever so much, dearest sister in Christ, for your marvelous insights re: the hydrogen bond and the geometry of DNA, and its significance:

The link between water which is non-life and living things which are characterized by their autonomously communicating a message, DNA (Shannon, information) is the hydrogen bond.

Fascinating!!!
736 posted on 10/13/2009 11:06:56 AM PDT by betty boop (Without God man neither knows which way to go, nor even understands who he is. —Pope Benedict XVI)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 729 | View Replies ]


To: betty boop
Darwin should have made it clear he wasn't interested in "going there," and simply taken life as axiomatic in his theory.... That way he could have had an origin of species argument without having to get into the origin of life issue. Which he himself never formally did; but his lack of clarity on the question has led to much what seems to me pointless speculation on the part of his disciples over time....

Is that intended to mean that only people who agree with the theory are engaged in pointless speculation, or that only their speculation is pointless?

738 posted on 10/13/2009 11:27:27 AM PDT by tacticalogic ("Oh bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 736 | View Replies ]

To: betty boop; CottShop; GodGunsGuts
What would be the cause for matter to suddenly start communicating, and what would it be communicating?

Indeed. Even if a geometrically bound message of an algorithmic complexity of 109 occurred by happenstance in a physico-chemical environment (har har) then what would cause that message to be communicated?

After all, every successful communication also requires a sender and receiver that speak the same language (encoding/decoding.)

Moreover, the message of physical life is communicated autonomously. How would it achieve autonomy of communications (the circular model.)

Thank you so very much for your insights and encouragements, dearest sister in Christ!

740 posted on 10/13/2009 11:49:15 AM PDT by Alamo-Girl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 736 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson