Knowledge, belief & agnosticism (Agnosticism)

by David Turell , Saturday, March 15, 2008, 15:50 (6095 days ago) @ dhw

I'd like to reply to dhw and Jelliss at one time without quotes. dhw is correct. Perhaps I was too broad in my reliance on pure science. Only 20-25 % of folks have a near to death episode, and it does alter their thinking, but Per van Pommel studied them in a prospective manner, and turned up some fascinating results that suggest those episodes are real. Experiences that dhw wants can come with deep meditiation and the person thinks he has become 'one with the universe'. I admit that is at a different level than pure science.
 Jelliss has an extreme faith in origin of life experimentation reaching an answer. Having read several books and articles on the subject, I know it has been a total dead end so far. The mathematical odds against the spontaneous generation of a single RNA molecule are so enormous as to deny a chance event can do it. Which is why Robert Shapiro has suggested a different approach with inorganic cycles that can generate some energy, and then "somehow" reach out into chance and become organic.
 I would again point out that the DNA/RNA system is very layered and extremely filled with information. Neo-Darwin mechanisms simply re-arrange the deck chairs on the Darwin ship using existing information to create something different and/or new. Where and how did chance originally find the information?