Miscellaneous (General)

by dhw, Friday, November 22, 2024, 11:37 (6 hours, 30 minutes ago) @ David Turell

Immune system complexity: sniffing out invaders

QUOTE: […] the reflected spectrum changed in a different way after introducing the E. coli LPS than after adding their Salmonella counterparts." This suggests that the same receptor is activated by different molecules in different ways and then triggers specific responses depending on the signal[/b]." (David’s bold)

DAVID: these reactions are very specific and suggest strongly that they were designed.

dhw: They suggest strongly that the cells know exactly what they are doing, as they change their responses according to the nature of the problem. The ability to process information and decide on the best solution to a particular problem is a clear indication of intelligence.

DAVID: The bold shows it is at an automatic molecular level.

The work of the molecules triggers specific responses. Something within the cell has to process the new information and decide on the appropriate responses. We have no idea what that “something” is, but some scientists believe it is a form of intelligence. You tell us that somehow the molecules automatically switch on the right instructions which your God planted inside the first cells 3.8 billion years ago, or he has just popped in to make the decision for them.

Theoretical origin of life: Space is filled with organics

dhw: why did he leave them floating around for about 1000,000,000 years, and then use them to create and cull all kinds of life forms, if all he wanted to do was create us and our food?

DAVID: You inflated the floating time. About 300,000,000 years is theorized. God wasting time is your complaint about God.
Later (under LUCA):
DAVID: You forget the issue is the Earth, 4.5 billion year old. That's 300,000,000 years to achieve life.

I think we’re both confused over the maths. If life began 3.8 billion years ago, and the Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, then it took your God 700,000,000 years to achieve life (I think!). But I’m not complaining. I’m asking you a question (see above) which you can’t answer, just as you can’t answer why your God would create billions of galaxies if he only wanted one. These are arguments against the very existence of your God, as follows (under “The Milky Way”):

DAVID: as usual the Milky Way stands out as unusual. From the designer standpoint the Milky Way must protect the Earth and that explains the differences.

From the agnostic and atheist standpoint, why would a designer design billions of galaxies if his one and only reason for designing life was to design humans and our food?

Introducing the brain: consciousness as ephaptic fields

dhw: You said that the article “comfortably fits my underlying dualism”. If neurons are the source of consciousness, I don’t see how this can be said to support dualism.

DAVID: The theory is the neurons receive consciousness, not create it.

That is the theory of dualism. Materialism is the theory that neurons create it. The article does not claim that neurons receive consciousness.

LUCA latest
https://www.quantamagazine.org/all-life-on-earth-today-descended-from-a-single-cell
dhw: The theory that life began with a single cell (perhaps equipped with “a rudimentary immune system”) and that it complexified relatively quickly ties in with the suggestion that the original cells were already equipped with the mechanisms for evolution. Not much of an advert for Darwin’s random mutations, but a good basis for the Margulis/McLintock/Sheldrake concept of cellular intelligence (perhaps designed by your God).

DAVID: Or just God working the designs.

Ah, you’re referring to the theory that he inefficiently designed every species and then culled 99% of them because they were irrelevant to his one and only purpose.

The universe could vanish at any moment

QUOTES: "Assuming there’s no mistake, the universe is doomed – we just don’t know when the big slurp will happen. Based on the shape of these valleys, it is likely to be in billions of years. But it could be tomorrow.”

"There is, however, an alternative explanation for why the Higgs field hasn’t transitioned. Despite the precise measurements of the top quark and the Higgs boson, we can’t be certain that the Higgs is in a precarious metastable state after all.”

I am applying for a grant to further my research on when and how the universe will disappear. I’m also taking bets on the likelihood of each alternative. All grant money will be gratefully received, and your bet will be lodged with the DHW Betting Company, which will pay you your winnings as soon as the universe disappears.

Different birds build different nests

QUOTE: Researchers analyzed more than 400 structures built by 43 different groups of White-browed Sparrow-Weavers in the Kalahari Desert

DAVID: Not rigid like the weaverbirds, these birds sort of build whatever they wish. It is as if the DNA says build whatever you wish, as long as it is effective.

Yes indeed. One might even believe that different organisms have an inbuilt intelligence which enables them to do their own designing. A very different theory from that of a dear friend of mine, who is convinced that, for instance, the weaverbird could only have built its nest if it followed his God’s instructions.