An Alternative to Evolution: pt 2 (Introduction)

by dhw, Wednesday, July 11, 2018, 12:05 (2328 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: You are confusing advances in complexity with information which produces the complexity. Complexity occurs but information is not added, only altered. Humans are highly complex, but their DNA is smaller than many organisms.

dhw First of all, I must say I am surprised that as a theistic evolutionist yourself, you are not prepared to defend your view of divinely designed evolution, or perhaps like me you are waiting for more details of Tony’s alternative.

DAVID: I have defended it. I have noted that mutations removed information even though increased complexity may appear. Following that point to its logical conclusion, life started with DNA loaded with all the information it might ever need.

How does this answer Tony’s claim that the theory of evolution itself is invalid because it depends entirely on random mutations? I thought you believed in evolution designed and guided by God.

dhw: I find the whole discussion on “information” as confusing as ever, and this may be due to my unfamiliarity with scientific jargon. However, I am here to learn. As above, I don’t understand why a new organ cannot contain and pass on information that did not exist before. So please define exactly what YOU mean by information. (Tony’s definition was the above list of nouns, but one can always introduce new meanings, functions, purposes.) DNA is not information. It is a substance that carries information. Why can't it carry new information? I don’t understand the relevance of your final remark. But perhaps all this will become clear when you give me your definition of information!

DAVID: The genome is a code which carries all the information needed for life. But it is much more than simply making proteins. and there are other factors in the mix. In embryology I've presented that electric changes, physical forces such as position, pressure from other cells, clumps of stem cells that recognize they are in liver position and they change to become all the different liver cells. As you revert to your experts (Buehler), I refer to mine: Mutations remove information.

How does all this mean that the first brain cannot contain “information” that was not already present in brainless organisms? Why won’t you give me your definition of “information”?