Paul Davies: new comments on Information and life (Introduction)

by dhw, Monday, March 16, 2020, 13:58 (1714 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: That is not what I meant, but I should have made it clearer. Your “onboard instructions” (which I believe you’ve sometimes called “intelligent information”), or what Davies calls the “information processing system”, ARE intelligence. According to you, the intelligent behaviour of cells in “translating information into understandable instructions and action” is God’s intelligence automatically expressed either through preprogramming or through dabbling. According to Shapiro and others (probably including Davies), it is autonomous, not automatic. The point of my terminology is to put an end to the confusion caused by using the term “information” for active and creative functions, whereas it is passive and non-creative. Otherwise, you have information using information.

DAVID: You have clearly defined the difference in interpretations. Shapiro, Davies and you are following your preferred belief systems that cells can be in and of themselves intelligent. Remember my admonition, only one side is correct. From my point of view that life started miraculously, it was designed,, and the cells are designed to act automatically. Your view requires that the cellular intelligence developed naturally. It has to be either or. There is no third way as I have stated a long time ago.

Of course only one side is correct as regards the autonomous vs automatic intelligence of cells, but for the thousandth time, my view does not require that cellular intelligence developed naturally. In my previous post I wrote: The “information processing system” is the intelligent cell, and he wants to know the origin of the intelligent cell. If Davies doesn’t wish to tackle the problem of the origin, so be it. That is not his concern. I am more than happy to say that the origin of the mechanism may be your God." I have probably said this a thousand times by now.
Meanwhile, the point of this particular post was to put a stop to all the confusing uses of the word “information”. Thank you for acknowledging my clear definition, which I hope will put an end to your confusing efforts to make information use information.