The utility of ID

I started a thread like this a long time ago and asked IDists to participate. In the end all I got were other evos like me, willing to give it a shot just for sake of argument.Technically there could be some value to it. If we could actually look at a certain set of characteristics and determine whether it was designed, versus created through unguided processes, that might help when we encounter new things where it is important to know where they came from.IDists themselves mention biowarfare. If a germ popped up and started killing people, and we could see that it was designed, that would help in tracking and dealing with it.I think more likely than that would be help in identifying species in the future once humans are more prolific in creating new species with mutations. Frankly even at this point in time it'd be nice to have a tool to determine genetically modified corn from nonmodified corn (or hybrids with mixes).In fact now that I think about it, that would be a great start for IDists. Europe is looking to restrict products that cannot be determined to be NONmodified. IDists would certainly have a feather in their cap if they could use their system to make such determinations and thus prevent a large scale embargo of US food products.

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holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)

As omni just suggested, aliens should be included!But seriously, I am assuming for sake of argument that the method they are suggesting can actually work. What would it be used for? Then I think it would be more often used (especially in the future) for detecting designs of human origin.Patent infringements is an interesting possibility, though I was thinking more along the lines of separating natural organisms, from those manipulated by humans using other than natural processes. That could be helpful say, if we realize later that a manipulation has negative consequences, but the strain is already out and about in nature and may have even mutated or hybridized further. If we could just analyze and thus figure out which had originally been products of manufacture, we could eliminate them more easily.

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holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)

Well to be honest I wish we could detect design as easily as they suggest. But unfortunately the world as it is (or as Gods made it?) is not that easy. I think the ID concept is pretty much kiboshed since they do not have a working method, and they don't even have the cojones to apply it to objects to show if it does or does not work.

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holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)