The letters of "HELP" are an abstract set of objects that, having experienced the natural/usual form of things like beaches and rocks, one comes to understand do not simply form themselves out of un-moving objects like rocks. Or, to be clearer, the understanding we have due to exposure to usual/normal beaches is that such an occurrence is so extremely unlikely so as to warrant further investigation into what is behind the formation - regardless whether one understands the lexicon or not. Expecting an intelligence behind it becomes easier the more you've experienced the usual/natural state of things, and the more exposure you've had to abstract concepts like lexicons and what uses them.
Right so even though you are granted 100% a purely unguided natural mechanism, that we know is fully capable of creating the result...an unseen intelligence is the more probable answer- because the power of explanation trumps the direct evidence in this case.
And yes, we also know that languages, particularly digital ones like DNA, have only one proven source, creative intelligence. Just like the waves washing up 'HELP"- it's not technically impossible to be created by chance, it's just that this does not = the most likely explanation
However, what do you think the first person who ever came across a crystal thought? Let's say a growth of amethyst. Because it didn't conform to the usual landscapes and understanding of their reality, they probably thought it was formed via some type of magic, or that spirits were behind its formation. In fact, curios shops yet today love to sell crystals as some form of magical healing or balance-inducing agent. Some people STILL think there is some kind of spiritual power attributable to them.
I think they may well have suspected intelligent design here also yes, and if so I think their hunch was correct
The knowledge we have about the universe by now is that it is ever-moving, ever creating things on its own. That the natural/usual state of matter is that it is in flux - interacting and reacting with other matter, forming new and complex relationships - crystals grow by themselves, and are doing so at all times throughout the entire universe. It seems funny or odd now to attribute a spirit to crystal formation. Especially when you can pick up a box at your local Toys 'R Us to go and grow some yourself.
My point being that there is a tendency is to attribute spiritual involvement or invoke some "higher powered" intelligence of some kind to explain something abnormal that you're not used to seeing in your reality. So, we're currently at the stage where a lot of people look at DNA and, fathoming the possibility that it came about via natural means, it becomes nearly impossible for them to accept - because it appears to be part of an abstract lexicon - and the only thing we know of that utilizes lexicons is, of course, intelligent beings. So we extrapolate that idea onto the formation of DNA - ignoring the fact that other complex arrangements of matter, like crystals, create themselves all the time. The hardest part for people to get past in the case of DNA is that it IS part of an abstract lexicon - because its specific formations dictate (via a type of "language") what an organism will be like as it forms. To my mind, we simply lack the experience with DNA to make it part of the usual/natural landscape enough to understand what could, or could not, truly be interpreted as a manifestation of evidence for a controlling/instantiating intelligence.
I once spent a summer teaching sailing on a lake, and remember 'correcting' a young student who believed the lake was there for us to sail on, telling them that we merely took advantage of a natural phenomena. I didn't realize at the time that they were quite correct- the lake was a reservoir built largely for recreational use. Point being that false assumptions work both ways, which one is the fallacy depends on which is ultimately truth, and we just don't know that yet do we? We're all taking our best guess
And why is it you seem to believe that the "simplest explanation" is that matter forms these sorts of relationships on its own? And that, by process of elimination, this means that you feel the most complex explanation would be that some sort of spiritual realm is at work? I have never known a single advancement or achievement of mankind that has relied solely on the assumption that a spiritual realm was involved in the processes being utilized or examined for discovery. Can you name one? Instead, what I have witnessed is the converse... that people flock first to the spiritual explanation for things that seem to have no explanation, and that once the understanding or explanation is found, people stop putting stock at all in their original spiritual assumptions. To my mind, this means that the "simpler" explanation is the spiritual, unknown, "God" explanation, because the explanation based on reality as we experience it requires time, work, effort, trial and error, and constant review and revision.
If you are designating creative intelligence as an inherently 'spiritual' or 'supernatural' phenomena- I agree with you. But it makes no difference to the fact that this phenomena does exist- we are using it right now.
So then we agree that the word 'HELP' was more likely created by this 'supernatural' phenomena we call creative intelligence as opposed to unguided naturalistic mechanism.
I have never known a single advancement or achievement of mankind that has relied solely on the assumption that a spiritual realm was involved in the processes being utilized or examined for discovery. Can you name one?
So yes, plenty- many small natural hills have been discovered to be man made for one reason or another, Piltdown man was discovered to be a creative invention, even entire landscapes once considered natural have been identified as the result of human farming/ cattle herding, irrigation etc etc.
And vice versa, for thousands of years many people blamed any bad weather on bad people angering nature, and demanded sacrifices to improve the weather. If bad weather continued this proved the sacrifices were not enough. If it improved, this proved that it worked. Many people today actually still believe this!
(not to derail this thread any further than we already have
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