1) The fact that animals and plants propagate from one generation to another through reproduction through descent with modification and natural selection under our very eyes is evidence against analogy of cars which certainly and evidently and observably do not.
one generation is propagated from the previous, by selection and reproduction of the most successful designs, under our very eyes. Cars or animals?
So we know without doubt that this process is used by intelligent agents, we know it works where survival of the fittest is already first granted an
arrival of the fittest to select from.
Whether nature can accidentally, by pure blind chance, create significantly fitter designs for nature to choose from- to the extent that a single cell can fully morph into a human being-
this is NOT something we can verify, no way around that, it's a very interesting question.
2) The fact that the logic of mutation followed by natural selection is regularly used in computer based design algorithms with such widespread popularity and efficacy is evidence that it is an effective and sufficient mode for adaptation.
Yes, another good analogy of the algorithm, just like car design-
I have used them regularly myself for many years, in fact this is precisely what lead to the first cracks in my previously staunch belief in evolution. I got the same results everyone else did, including Dawkins:
....The computer examines the mutant nonsense phrases, the 'progeny' of the original phrase, and chooses the one which, however slightly, most resembles the target phrase, METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL.
By repeating the procedure, a randomly generated sequence of 28 letters and spaces will be gradually changed each generation. The sequences progress through each generation:
Generation 01: WDLTMNLT DTJBKWIRZREZLMQCO P [2]
Generation 02: WDLTMNLT DTJBSWIRZREZLMQCO P
Generation 10: MDLDMNLS ITJISWHRZREZ MECS P
Generation 20: MELDINLS IT ISWPRKE Z WECSEL
Generation 30: METHINGS IT ISWLIKE B WECSEL
Generation 40: METHINKS IT IS LIKE I WEASEL
Generation 43: METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL
Dawkins demonstrates that random processes can be used to create a
pre-determined outcome.
And I agree entirely, it can be a very efficient way to do so. As you note, we know for sure that this method is utilized by intelligent agents. Whether or not nature can do the same accidentally- the jury is still out, but more and more we recognize the distinct fingerprints of ID v blind chance
3) Rate of beneficial mutations are quite high in populations as seen from the experiments directly
if a die keeps rolling a six, is this evidence that random chance prefers the number 6? or that the die is loaded?
'beneficial' is a subjective term, one of the great problems is that the benefit needs to be significant- nobody will select a car that gets .01% better gas mileage. The analogy doesn't fit too well for life, because it gets much much more difficult.
Here is some interesting homework
if a female gorilla has an average of 4 offspring in a lifetime, what competitive advantage, as a percentage, does that gorilla need to have acquired over the others, by accidental mutation, in order for that mutation to increase her offspring from 4 to 5?
an insignificant mutation cannot significantly alter the gene pool, and this is borne out in life, observation, experiment, simulation, you name it. 'nature' would have no means of specifically preserving insignificant benefits for a rainy day.
4) Growth of Entropy does not mean loss of complexity, rather its the reverse.
In general of course,, we agree, a random pile of bricks is arguably a more 'complex' pattern to describe than a neat brick wall right?. If an ID proponent mentions complexity it generally refers to whatever complexity as is specific to functionality. When you see HELP written in rocks, rather than a random pile, an atheist uses the same evaluation to conclude ID, the lack of entropy that the random action of the waves would create. And you might also argue that maybe a rough 'L' shape could be put down to chance, but the entire word 'HELP' was too 'complex' to put down to random mutation- It's one of those semantic things that tends to distract from substance in these debates..
So knock down a brick wall, scramble that test screen pattern, scramble the blueprints for a house or the DNA in a skin cell, and you will likely get what I said
In a word, entropy- deterioration, decline, collapse,- not superior functionality of design- car or animal again
entropy
- 2.
lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.
synonyms: deterioration, degeneration, crumbling, decline, degradation, decomposition, breaking down, collapse; More
. But to rebut your statement by Haldane, there are many exceptions to both the Cambrian and Precambrian fossil record.
