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Author Topic:   Oh those clever evolutionists: Question-begging abiogenesis
Annafan
Member (Idle past 4609 days)
Posts: 418
From: Belgium
Joined: 08-08-2005


Message 59 of 301 (248458)
10-03-2005 9:28 AM


"unlikeliness" is not the right weapon
Let us assume that we would somehow determine an abiogenesis-path that is undeniably *possible*, and that it is the absolutely only one that we can find after thousands of years of research.. Let's also assume that we had perfect insight into the involved probability calculation. AND that this calculation showed that the chance for this abiogenesis to occur was 10-to-the-power-brazillion.
In what way would this indicate that the proposed trajectory, the only possible one that carries all our hope, is NOT a valid candidate and should be abandoned in favour of Divine Creation?
The weak anthropic principle takes perfectly care of this, and the analogy of the lottery-winner applies:
As long as the winner is only aware of himself, and not of the millions of others who PARTICIPATED but DIDN'T win (the failed experiments), he feels special and values the incredible odds against his winning ticket. But as soon as he sees the Big Picture, the "incredible odds" can be seen in their true perspective: it was INEVITABLE that someone won. And it happened to be HIM.
Out situation would be one where buying a winning or not winning ticket would mean the difference between existing (being able to wonder about the situation) or not existing at all (and not wondering at all, obviously ).
If there were no other viable places around, our existence could be totally incomprehensible if the 10-to-the-power-brazillion chance were accurate. But with every next dead planet that is being discovered, it become less wonderous because it helps putting things in the right perspective. Every newly discovered dead planet is like meeting a new lottery-loser. And since it looks like planets are a normal by-product of star-formation, there are quite a few losers out there, lol

Annafan
Member (Idle past 4609 days)
Posts: 418
From: Belgium
Joined: 08-08-2005


Message 275 of 301 (249451)
10-06-2005 10:32 AM
Reply to: Message 272 by DorfMan
10-06-2005 10:27 AM


Re: First ingredient
How the elements came about has been explained in quite some detail...

This message is a reply to:
 Message 272 by DorfMan, posted 10-06-2005 10:27 AM DorfMan has not replied

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