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To: Gumlegs
As I've posted before, ID pretends to be able to tell us the odds of rolling a six in an unknown number of passes, with an unknown number of dice, each having an unknown number of sides. Go ahead and show us how you'd calculate the odds under those conditions.

This is similar to the Drake equation which attempts to determine the probability of intelligent life in the universe.

The difference between Drake and ID is that the parameters of the Drake equation are being filled in by research.

502 posted on 12/04/2005 9:50:49 AM PST by js1138 (Great is the power of steady misrepresentation.)
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To: js1138

But does the research rely on "man-made facts," or the other kind?


505 posted on 12/04/2005 9:57:28 AM PST by Gumlegs
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To: js1138

Another difference is that the Drake equation is grounded in empirical observation - ie the parameters are based on the observed human position. So the equation is constrained to finding the probability of intelligent life like us.

However the ID version of the drake equation, which would be something like "the probability of an intelligent designer of life" has completely unknown parameters, as we know of no intelligent designers of sufficient ability to base the search on. We neither know the design method, or the motive.

Yet despite this it is ID which is claiming a definite conclusion. They don't simply say "our research is not conclusive yet". They are right out there saying "yep this flagellum *must* be intelligently designed". Wheras astronomers/cosmologists on the drake equation do not claim a definite conclusion even though they have a lot more background info about what intelligent life would be like.


507 posted on 12/04/2005 10:05:49 AM PST by bobdsmith
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