[...]
>
>LH>(Those "primordial seeds," mentioned above, are crucial data for galactic
>>formation.) There are models, but they're pretty weakly constrained
>>compared to other processes/events in cosmological history.
>
>SJ>Planting "primordial seeds" is an *intervention* by a human
>intelligent designer. If all cosmological models require the
>arbitrary intervention of a human intelligent designer then they are
>support for intervention by a *real* Intelligent Designer.
>
There were many other statements along a similar vein.
You make an interesting point that I would like to pursue.
What would a model of the intervention of an Intelligent
Designer look like? Is the model under discussion here an
example of such a model?
I would like to see a definition of intervention and intelligent
design which supports your view that the cosmological model
being discussed here is an interventionist model.
I'll go first. All these ideas are my own and are not intended
to represent yours or anyone else's views.
Let's start by considering, by way of analogy, the argument
from fine tuning. This seems a suitable analogy since it
also involves cosmology. In this argument we make the
observation that several parameters must fall within a
very narrow range in order to yield some desired final
outcome, usually a universe suitable for life. The basic
idea of design is this fine tuning towards some final goal
or purpose.
Now for the computer model. The final goal would be
associated with the final output of the model. For
this output to have been designed one would need to
maintain that the planting of the "primordial seeds"
was performed with some final goal in mind. So, I
think you would have a case if the modelers selected
"primordial seeds" in such a way as to achieve some
final purpose. From what Loren wrote, there does not
seem to be any selection of this type going on:
======
LH>Digression into the current state of computer modeling
>of cosmological evolution: There are quite a few different
>models, each covering limited time-periods and different
>spatial scales. This is necessary because different physical
>processes are dominant in different epochs, and different
>assumptions are valid on different spatial scales. In order
>to calculate efficiently and accurately, the programs are
>specially written for the dominant processes of that
>epoch/scale. For the "initial condition" inputs and the
>assumptions made at the smallest and largest length scales
>of these models, they don't usually rely on the outputs of
>other computer models; as much as possible, they start with
>known observational data (they "insert it by hand").
=======
If the modelers start with known observational data, or
output from other models for that matter, then they are
not selecting the initial conditions to produce some
desired final result.
Brian Harper
Associate Professor
Applied Mechanics
The Ohio State University
"It is not certain that all is uncertain,
to the glory of skepticism." -- Pascal