26Jun 2020 by Post

Evolutionary Theorizing Depends on Magic Words

AARS, Amber Dance, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, automobile, cancer, chassis, crankshaft, Darwinians, engine, enzymes, Evolution, golf, illusion, Journal of Molecular Evolution, magic words, magicians, messenger RNA, natural selection, protein synthesis, rabbits, Richard Dawkins, Robert Shapiro, Scientific American, seats, steering wheel, The Scientist, Tokyo Institute of Science
Here is a quick tale about the evolution of the automobile. Billions of years ago, a chassis appeared.The chassis acquired an engine.The crankshaft found a side gig as a steering wheel.The steering wheel linked up with the brake pedal to form a universal joint.Seats developed. They probably arose when the first hood evolved. Now consider leading journals publishing this account after it has whisked through peer review. Is this not exactly what goes on in evolutionary theorizing? Darwinians have mastered the use of magic words that replace rigor with imagination. And they get away with it; nobody ever blows the whistle on what should be tagged a major scientific foul.  New Findings About Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases Here is an example in The Scientist, a news magazine for working scientists who should…
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18Jun 2020 by Post

Chance, Necessity, and Design

automobiles, chance, chassis, critics, design, design detection, differential, doors, explanatory filter, Intelligent Design, Jonathan Waldman, Joshua Swamidass, kinetic theory of heat, necessity, probability, repudiation, retirement, rust, Rust: The Longest War, Sean McDowell, shocks, Uncommon Descent
ID supporters continue to send me emails about Josh Swamidass. The latest hammers on a comment I made in 2008 at Uncommon Descent, namely: “I’ve pretty much dispensed with the EF [Explanatory Filter]. It suggests that chance, necessity, and design are mutually exclusive. They are not. Straight CSI is clearer as a criterion for design detection.” I would not write that now. In my view the filter is just fine and it neither conflates nor falsely differentiates the three modes of explanation (chance, necessity, and design). My comment back then should be seen as an unnecessary concession to critics, not as undercutting the filter per se. To properly use the Explanatory Filter, it is vital to identify what exactly one is trying to explain. Take a rusted automobile. In Jonathan Waldman’s wonderful…
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