Paul C. Anagnostopoulos
6th November 2003, 08:00 PM
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, just as it was presented to me, the 54 predictions of Intelligent Design theory. After responding to the first few on the forum where this was presented, I gave up. I've been Zammited.
1)High information content machine-like irreducibly complex
structures will be found.
2)Forms will be found in the fossil record that appear
suddenly and without any precursors.
3)Genes and functional parts will be re-used in different
unrelated organisms.
4)The genetic code will not contain much discarded genetic
baggage code or functionless "junk DNA".
5)Living things will appear to be designed
6)The universe will appear to be designed to support life.
7)The universe and man's mind will appear to be co-designed so
that man can understand the underlying mathematical laws of the
universe.
8)Adaption to changes in the environment will only happen on a
limited level. If changes exceed the limited scale, species will
become extinct. No new species will emerge to fill the gap, if
not 'engineered'.
9)We will observe in real time massive extinction of species
but not the advent of new ones.
10)We will observe in the real world of nature forces such as
global warming pollution and other changes (most of them man- made)
accelerating the extinction of species. In these ecosystems other
already existing species may take their place, but no new evolution
products will emerge.
11)Males will have lower genetic variability on their Y-
chromosomes, compared to the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is
passed on exclusively through women.
12)Earth-like planets will be found to be rare or non-existent
13)Extraterrestrial life will be rare or non-existent and
advanced life will be found only on earth
14)It will be impossible to chemically produce the many basic
molecules required for any living system
15)We will observe a fossil record replete with complex
transitions and new designs but where simple transitions (true
intermediates) are rare.
16)There will be no restrictions on "recovery" period from
mass extinctions as new species are created
17)The fossil record will indicate rapid recovery with
completely different designs and species appearing within periods of
tens of thousands of years or less. (Neo-Darwinian evolution predicts
slow recovery following extinctions and that those recoveries will be
filled by the species surviving the extinction event.)
18)More examples of extreme fine tuning will be found,
indicating true design
19)Life emerged early under adverse conditions.
20)Life is, and has always been, complex
21)The universe is designed to support life
22)There will be no restriction on designs with the possibility
that complex new designs would appear "overnight"
23)A naturalistic scenario for the origin of all biochemical
pathways and replicative molecules will not be found
24)In the genome of normal individuals, whatever their species,
we should find no quiescent genes that are similar to active genes.
25)At least some structurally similar genes will have specific
functions that do not parallel or overlap those found among related
species
26)There are patterns of sequence homologies of macromolecules
that cannot be accommodated by the monophyletic assumption of the
common descent hypothesis, but can be accommodated by a polyphyletic
lineage with a common pattern (or "design"). Preliminary evidence has
already indicated that the three distinct "urkingdoms" of Archea,
Bacteria, and Eukarya have unique patterns within themselves such as
rRNA, RNA polymerase, Cell Walls, Lipid compositions, and
translational machineries.
27)It will not be shown that biological systems like the
bacterial flagellum that are wonderfully complex, elegant, and
integrated have actually formed by a gradual Darwinian process.
28)No one should ever be able to demonstrate abiogenesis in the
laboratory
29)There should be evidence of degeneration (accumulation of
many bad mutations) in higher plants and animals.
30)Because of the degeneration problem new genes for unrelated
proteins should never evolve in higher plants and animals, even with
unlimited time.
31)Even when degeneration is not inevitable (e.g. bacteria),
evolution should proceed so slowly that we can't observe the
development of a new gene for an unrelated protein within a lifetime
or even in thousands of years, making the theory of Evolution at most
an untestable hypothesis. Therefore none of the examples of evolution
that have occurred during recorded history should require a new gene
for an unrelated protein to explain them.
32)The fossil record should show sudden appearance of species
without being preceded by a close intermediate followed by very
little change.
33)We should see many examples of rapid speciation within the
original "kind" today (mostly insects - but also plants,
fish, birds
etc.) But it should be possible to explain them by new less-
functional alleles, loss of alleles or hybridization - kinds of
change that cannot turn single-celled organisms into higher plants
and animals.
34)Archaeologists consider arrowheads, pottery and other tools
as evidence of intelligent design, and infer they were made by humans
because it's impossible for wind, rain or earthquakes etc. to produce
them. In biology, intelligent design means that DNA based life forms
had to be designed by a non-DNA based life form because it's
impossible to explain new genes for unrelated proteins being produced
by random mutations, natural selection, gene flow and genetic drift
35)There will be a tendency to degenerate in higher plants and
animals, even with enough genes and a high enough mutation rate.
36)Even for bacteria with few genes and no degeneration, natural
selection can't favor the harmful or nonfunctional steps between two
unrelated proteins needed to bridge the gap.
37)4.5 billion years is not long enough to make the evolution of
even the simplest one-celled organism likely, even under
unrealistically favourable conditions.
38)The will be a lack of examples of evolution during recorded
history that require new genes for unrelated proteins to explain
them.
39)There will be a virtual absence in the fossil record of the
countless close intermediate varieties that must have existed if the
theory of evolution based upon RM& NS is true.
40)We will discover examples of complexity that can't be
explained by natural selection acting on a series of point mutations
etc.
41)Organisms placed under selection pressures will either adapt
or become extinct. Except in the simplest cases where there is, for
example, some point mutation that reliably confers antibiotic
resistance on a bacterium, Darwin's theory has no way of predicting
just what sorts of adaptive changes will occur.
42)"Adapt or go extinct" is not a prediction of Darwin's theory
but an axiom that can be reasoned out independently by anyone.
43)Darwinism does not in fact retrodict the fossil record.
Natural selection and random variation applied to single-celled
organisms offers no insight at all into whether we can expect multi-
celled organisms, much less whether evolution will produce the
various body-plans of which natural history has left us a record. At
best one can say that there is consilience, i.e., that the broad
sweep of evolutionary history as displayed in the fossil record is
consistent with Darwinian evolution.
44)Why would Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge need to
introduce punctuated equilibria if the fossil record were such an
overwhelming vindication of Darwinism?
45)An event like the Cambrian explosion is exactly what one
would predict in the Intelligent Design hypothesis
46)The "Privileged Planet" scenario: not only is earth in
the
ideal spot for life, it is in the ideal spot for being able to see
out and measure the universe. Habitability correlates with
measurability.
47)Unlike most liquids, water when it freezes will expand and become
lighter and float.If it did not, the ice that formed during any of
the earth's Ice Ages would have sunk to the bottom of the lakes
and
seas of the world. As a result, they would have eventually frozen
completely solid, leaving no opportunity for life to form or survive.
But ice floats, and, therefore the water beneath the surface of
frozen lakes and seas stayed warm enough to support the development
and sustenance of life. Thus water is fundamental to "the miracle of
life" on earth.
48)The Anthropic Principle
49) Naturalistic critics and opponents of ID, and their
supporters will continue to spend enormous amounts of time
manufacturing new forms of red tape aimed at marginalizing
intelligent design rather than admit that it raises problems of
genuine scientific merit.
50)Because Neo-Darwinism evolution is pictured as a tinkerer
working with odds and ends, assembling interactions until they are
good enough to work it is therefore quite miraculous that the
solutions found by evolution have much in common with good
engineering design. Engineers and tinkerers arrive at their solutions
by very different routes. Engineers and designers plan structures in
advance and drawing up blueprints which is just what is found in the
world of nature and its excellent engineering designs.
51)Based on our knowledge of the prebiological conditions of
the Earth we can reject the possibility that amino acids could
spontaneously form the first proteins
52)Based on our knowledge of chemistry and the actual complexity
of cells we can reject the notion that the first proteins could have
been formed on the surfaces of silicate clays
53) Based on our knowledge of the general deleterious effect of
mutations we can reject the continual recourse to mutation miracles
by Darwinists.
And
54)Enolase functions in the degradosome as a prong that plugs
the degradosome into the glycolytic pathway so that ATP generated by
pyruvate kinase is then quickly channeled to the helicase to fuel its
unwinding activity (!)
1)High information content machine-like irreducibly complex
structures will be found.
2)Forms will be found in the fossil record that appear
suddenly and without any precursors.
3)Genes and functional parts will be re-used in different
unrelated organisms.
4)The genetic code will not contain much discarded genetic
baggage code or functionless "junk DNA".
5)Living things will appear to be designed
6)The universe will appear to be designed to support life.
7)The universe and man's mind will appear to be co-designed so
that man can understand the underlying mathematical laws of the
universe.
8)Adaption to changes in the environment will only happen on a
limited level. If changes exceed the limited scale, species will
become extinct. No new species will emerge to fill the gap, if
not 'engineered'.
9)We will observe in real time massive extinction of species
but not the advent of new ones.
10)We will observe in the real world of nature forces such as
global warming pollution and other changes (most of them man- made)
accelerating the extinction of species. In these ecosystems other
already existing species may take their place, but no new evolution
products will emerge.
11)Males will have lower genetic variability on their Y-
chromosomes, compared to the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is
passed on exclusively through women.
12)Earth-like planets will be found to be rare or non-existent
13)Extraterrestrial life will be rare or non-existent and
advanced life will be found only on earth
14)It will be impossible to chemically produce the many basic
molecules required for any living system
15)We will observe a fossil record replete with complex
transitions and new designs but where simple transitions (true
intermediates) are rare.
16)There will be no restrictions on "recovery" period from
mass extinctions as new species are created
17)The fossil record will indicate rapid recovery with
completely different designs and species appearing within periods of
tens of thousands of years or less. (Neo-Darwinian evolution predicts
slow recovery following extinctions and that those recoveries will be
filled by the species surviving the extinction event.)
18)More examples of extreme fine tuning will be found,
indicating true design
19)Life emerged early under adverse conditions.
20)Life is, and has always been, complex
21)The universe is designed to support life
22)There will be no restriction on designs with the possibility
that complex new designs would appear "overnight"
23)A naturalistic scenario for the origin of all biochemical
pathways and replicative molecules will not be found
24)In the genome of normal individuals, whatever their species,
we should find no quiescent genes that are similar to active genes.
25)At least some structurally similar genes will have specific
functions that do not parallel or overlap those found among related
species
26)There are patterns of sequence homologies of macromolecules
that cannot be accommodated by the monophyletic assumption of the
common descent hypothesis, but can be accommodated by a polyphyletic
lineage with a common pattern (or "design"). Preliminary evidence has
already indicated that the three distinct "urkingdoms" of Archea,
Bacteria, and Eukarya have unique patterns within themselves such as
rRNA, RNA polymerase, Cell Walls, Lipid compositions, and
translational machineries.
27)It will not be shown that biological systems like the
bacterial flagellum that are wonderfully complex, elegant, and
integrated have actually formed by a gradual Darwinian process.
28)No one should ever be able to demonstrate abiogenesis in the
laboratory
29)There should be evidence of degeneration (accumulation of
many bad mutations) in higher plants and animals.
30)Because of the degeneration problem new genes for unrelated
proteins should never evolve in higher plants and animals, even with
unlimited time.
31)Even when degeneration is not inevitable (e.g. bacteria),
evolution should proceed so slowly that we can't observe the
development of a new gene for an unrelated protein within a lifetime
or even in thousands of years, making the theory of Evolution at most
an untestable hypothesis. Therefore none of the examples of evolution
that have occurred during recorded history should require a new gene
for an unrelated protein to explain them.
32)The fossil record should show sudden appearance of species
without being preceded by a close intermediate followed by very
little change.
33)We should see many examples of rapid speciation within the
original "kind" today (mostly insects - but also plants,
fish, birds
etc.) But it should be possible to explain them by new less-
functional alleles, loss of alleles or hybridization - kinds of
change that cannot turn single-celled organisms into higher plants
and animals.
34)Archaeologists consider arrowheads, pottery and other tools
as evidence of intelligent design, and infer they were made by humans
because it's impossible for wind, rain or earthquakes etc. to produce
them. In biology, intelligent design means that DNA based life forms
had to be designed by a non-DNA based life form because it's
impossible to explain new genes for unrelated proteins being produced
by random mutations, natural selection, gene flow and genetic drift
35)There will be a tendency to degenerate in higher plants and
animals, even with enough genes and a high enough mutation rate.
36)Even for bacteria with few genes and no degeneration, natural
selection can't favor the harmful or nonfunctional steps between two
unrelated proteins needed to bridge the gap.
37)4.5 billion years is not long enough to make the evolution of
even the simplest one-celled organism likely, even under
unrealistically favourable conditions.
38)The will be a lack of examples of evolution during recorded
history that require new genes for unrelated proteins to explain
them.
39)There will be a virtual absence in the fossil record of the
countless close intermediate varieties that must have existed if the
theory of evolution based upon RM& NS is true.
40)We will discover examples of complexity that can't be
explained by natural selection acting on a series of point mutations
etc.
41)Organisms placed under selection pressures will either adapt
or become extinct. Except in the simplest cases where there is, for
example, some point mutation that reliably confers antibiotic
resistance on a bacterium, Darwin's theory has no way of predicting
just what sorts of adaptive changes will occur.
42)"Adapt or go extinct" is not a prediction of Darwin's theory
but an axiom that can be reasoned out independently by anyone.
43)Darwinism does not in fact retrodict the fossil record.
Natural selection and random variation applied to single-celled
organisms offers no insight at all into whether we can expect multi-
celled organisms, much less whether evolution will produce the
various body-plans of which natural history has left us a record. At
best one can say that there is consilience, i.e., that the broad
sweep of evolutionary history as displayed in the fossil record is
consistent with Darwinian evolution.
44)Why would Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge need to
introduce punctuated equilibria if the fossil record were such an
overwhelming vindication of Darwinism?
45)An event like the Cambrian explosion is exactly what one
would predict in the Intelligent Design hypothesis
46)The "Privileged Planet" scenario: not only is earth in
the
ideal spot for life, it is in the ideal spot for being able to see
out and measure the universe. Habitability correlates with
measurability.
47)Unlike most liquids, water when it freezes will expand and become
lighter and float.If it did not, the ice that formed during any of
the earth's Ice Ages would have sunk to the bottom of the lakes
and
seas of the world. As a result, they would have eventually frozen
completely solid, leaving no opportunity for life to form or survive.
But ice floats, and, therefore the water beneath the surface of
frozen lakes and seas stayed warm enough to support the development
and sustenance of life. Thus water is fundamental to "the miracle of
life" on earth.
48)The Anthropic Principle
49) Naturalistic critics and opponents of ID, and their
supporters will continue to spend enormous amounts of time
manufacturing new forms of red tape aimed at marginalizing
intelligent design rather than admit that it raises problems of
genuine scientific merit.
50)Because Neo-Darwinism evolution is pictured as a tinkerer
working with odds and ends, assembling interactions until they are
good enough to work it is therefore quite miraculous that the
solutions found by evolution have much in common with good
engineering design. Engineers and tinkerers arrive at their solutions
by very different routes. Engineers and designers plan structures in
advance and drawing up blueprints which is just what is found in the
world of nature and its excellent engineering designs.
51)Based on our knowledge of the prebiological conditions of
the Earth we can reject the possibility that amino acids could
spontaneously form the first proteins
52)Based on our knowledge of chemistry and the actual complexity
of cells we can reject the notion that the first proteins could have
been formed on the surfaces of silicate clays
53) Based on our knowledge of the general deleterious effect of
mutations we can reject the continual recourse to mutation miracles
by Darwinists.
And
54)Enolase functions in the degradosome as a prong that plugs
the degradosome into the glycolytic pathway so that ATP generated by
pyruvate kinase is then quickly channeled to the helicase to fuel its
unwinding activity (!)