Artificial Life Experiments Show How Complex Functions Can Evolve

NSF ^ | May 8, 2003 | Staff

[asformeandformyhouse]

It sounds like these *INTELLIGENT* people *DESIGNED* themselves a really nice experiment in a tightly controlled environment.

Exactly. Let me know when the computer assembles itself from parts and then writes the program to do all of this. Then I'll be interested.

[balrog666]

Am I the only one here who actually cares what the bible has to say???

Yes, so please shut up about your personal mythology on a science thread.

[PatrickHenry]

Now he's cutting and pasting your posts.

That's from a post of mine he got deleted recently. Who knows what his motivation is? Who cares?

[RonF]

Jim Robinson does, indeed, run a great website.

I suppose you're right on the other. It seems to me, however, that in many of the evolution/creationism threads, acceptance of evolution seems to be associated with liberal politics, and creationism with conservative politics, which doesn't make sense to me.

[elbucko]

only fools believe in evolution !

Illuminating choice of words. Evolution is usually studied

and not "believed". Science

is not Faith. I "believe"

you have confused the

two.

[AmericanAge]

"They're all pseudoscientists, are they?"

Have you looked at the NAS's "Life Sciences" page? They're all about stem cell research, evolution, and all of that sort of stuff. What a reference. ;)

[Dimensio]

It's not really a 'lie' that there are no transitional fossils when creationists redefine "transitional fossil" as "that which does not exist". It's disingenious, maybe, but not technically lying.

[Doctor Stochastic]

...Next this person is going to start using statistics, a "science" long since disproven....

I took a short to Las Vegas, Nevada last fall. Those who believe in statistics owned a lot of casinos. Those who believed that statistics has been disproven were playing slot machines.

[f.Christian]

Ussually when the older generation dies off the younger ones have to grow up --- not here !

[donh]

"Does the Pope believe in the Bible?"

Laf, do you really want to get into the Catholics here???

Sure, if it will get you to talk in logically connected sentences, rather than cryptic challenging sound bites.

So the Pope isn't a "real" christian? Is that the official position of your church on this subject? What other notions are you nursing around? Dowsing? UFOlogy? Astrology?

[Aric2000]

Well, according to the church doctrine of centuries ago, the earth was flat, the sun revolved around the earth, and the earth was the center of the universe.

Well, nowadays that church admits that.

The earth is indeed round.

The earth revolves around the sun.

And we are actually an insignifacant spec in an out of the way arm of the Milky Way galaxy.

The Roman Catholic Church, again has admitted that evolution is the most likely scientific theory explaining how we got here, but that at some time during that evolution, god gave us immortal souls.

If the Roman Catholic Church can admit that, then perhaps it's time you should.

[Dimensio]

Amazing to what lengths athesits, oops evolutionists will go to to bolster their ridiculous theory.

Ah, creationist canard #234: Evolutionists are all atheists.

[f.Christian]

only fools believe in the ideology of evolution !

[AmericanAge]

If you can't believe Genesis literally, then who gets to pick and choose what is real and what is parable? There are absolutely no limits to that.

What sort of "moral lesson" is there in God creating the world? An analogy would make absolutely no sense there, in addition to making the entire Bible unreliable.

[Dimensio]

I'm not saying that you are wrong, but when did Nebullis claim to be an atheist?

[Gee Wally]

These computer programs go forth and multiply, they mutate and they adapt by natural selection. ... The program, called Avida, is an artificial petri dish in which organisms not only reproduce, but also perform mathematical calculations to obtain rewards. Their reward is more computer time that they can use for making copies of themselves. Avida randomly adds mutations to the copies, thus spurring natural selection and evolution.

Is there a computer system that operates on a random clock cycle? Wouldn't the function yielding the random mutation have to be checked at the regular clock cycle of the computer system or some timer interval dependent upon the computer's clock cycle? Wouldn't that function have to have been programmed by somebody? Isn't the "random" function, in fact, not random, but dependent upon the computer's clock cycle and the program itself? Just wondering.

[js1138]

What sort of defamation is that??

Generic defamation. You provide no evidence for your position other than the Bible. Therefore you are limited to what the bible has to say about the shape and position of the world. The Bible says that Jesus could see all the kingdoms of the world from a mountaintop. This could only be done if the earth is flat.

[f.Christian]

Science has't changed since it existed -- was created ...

people thanks to evolution like you ---

are getting dumber !

[Dimensio]

I think that he's being sarcastic, though IMO he needs to be a little more absurd to really get the point across.

[Doctor Stochastic]

...Am I the only one here who actually cares what the bible has to say???...

No. But the way your posts are evolving, soon you will be the only one here whe actually cares what you have to say.