Darwinism Under Attack ( Intelligent Design Theory)

Chronicle of Higher Education ^ | 21December 2001 | BETH MCMURTRIE

[allessior]

I am glad you shifted. My background is Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. My highest degree is MS. Obviously I have taken lots of math, chemistry, and physics and some biology, plus computer science, hardware design, electronics, etc.

I don’t see the difference between what theoretical physicists claim, such as that life originated from stars, with absolutely NO PROOF, and the claims of Intelligent Design practitioners. In fact, Intelligent Design has a stronger claim, in my opinion, since they have already identified information coding in DNA and complex structures in cells, which Darwin had previously assumed to be primitive.

In fact, when theoretical physicists claim they have proven the existence of black holes, they really mean that they have indirectly observed the effects of intense gravitational forces on stars and other objects, and by inference, have “positively concluded” that black holes were the source of such forces. This is no different than the claims of Intelligent Design theoreticians, who infer intelligence from signal encoding in DNA and from irreducibly complex organisms and biological structures.

As a lay person with a significant interest in physics and science in general, and as an engineer and computer scientist, it is wrong to dismiss any inquiry as long as scientific methods are used as the basis for the development of theorems. Those who oppose this are just as “religious” as any believer in God, as I am, but their religion becomes simply an anti-deist one.

My advice to all universities, labs, and think tanks: stop being as closed minded about Intelligent Design as you claim those with a belief in God to be. Offer courses in Intelligent Design both at the philosophical level as well as the scientific level. Be open to ALL INQUIRY.