First, I'd like to highly recommend Donald MacKay's book
_Science,_Providence,_and_Chance_ and John Polkinghorne's book
_Providence_and_Chance._ Both books are short and readable, although
perhaps somewhat difficult to obtain. (Try inter-library loan if
necessary.)
Second, let's break out an old analogy from 5 months ago.
Remember Glenn's computer program "Cambrian Explosion," which (if I
remember correctly) used equations for a 10-dimensional orbit (the
parameters determined by 10 "genes") projected onto 2 dimensions.
(This is analogous to biology in the sense that genomic phase space is
projected onto a smaller-dimensional morphological phase space; most
genomic mutations cause little or no change in morphology but a few cause
dramatic change.)
I extended that analogy by adding a coin-flipping device to determine
mutations from generation to generation, a black button which allowed the
user to deliberately change one gene, and a red button to rewrite most or
all of the genome.
An observer who knew nothing about the buttons, but who understood the
equations and the coin-flipping, would immediately be able to tell if the
red button was used. The observer would NOT immediately be able to tell
if the black button was used. However, cumulative use of the black button
might be detectable in certain cases. For example:
1) if the pathway followed from generation to generation was
inherently suggestive. (I.e. if the shapes produced by MOST genomes
were uninteresting, if only tiny and isolated (or nearly isolated)
portions of phase space were "interesting," yet the sequence
invariably followed those interesting pathways.
2) if some external source told the observer that a user intended
a _particular_ (unlikely) outcome, and in fact the sequence
did lead to that outcome.
I would say that "intervention" is analogous to both conditions (2) AND
(1) being true, while "guidance" is analogous to condition (2) being true
but not condition (1). (Condition 1 implies that the pattern of
black-button-pushing is suggested by the inherent properties of the phase
space itself.)
(I'd be happy if someone could suggest better terms.)
Thus, IMO and based upon what I've read, TEs and PCs agree that condition
(2) is true for biological history, but disagree about condition (1).
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"OK, the situation is totally under |
control as of this moment in time." | Loren Haarsma
--Zaphod Beeblebrox | lhaarsma@opal.tufts.edu