From: Paul Nelson <pnelson2@ix.netcom.com>
>Hi Richard,
>
>You asked:
>
>> Paul, do you have any examples of calculations demonstrating the
existence
>> of CSI in nature? I have been asking Dembski to cite such a calculation,
>but
>> he has so far been unable to do so.
>
>Try Siegfried Scherer, "Basic Functional States in the Evolution of
>Light-driven
>Cyclic Electron Transport," _Journal of Theoretical Biology_ 104 (1983):
>289-299. The section, "Estimation of Probabilities," pp. 295-296, should
>be of interest.
>
>If you read German, Scherer's monograph, _Entstehung der Photosynthese:
>Grenzen molekularer Evolution bei Bakterien?_ (Berlin: Pascal Verlag,
1996),
>updates the 1983 paper in considerable detail.
>
>You might also take a look at a 1992 paper by the Swiss biochemist Peter
>Rust, "How Has Life and Its Diversity Been Produced?" _Perspectives on
>Science & Christian Faith_ 44 (June 1992):80-94, especially the sections
>"Microevolutionary Mechanisms" (pp. 82-83) and "Semantic Information"
>(pp. 84-86).
>
>Neither Scherer nor Rust uses the terminology "CSI," but as you'll see from
>reading their arguments, the fit with Dembski's reasoning is fairly close.
Paul, thanks for the references, but unfortunately I don't have access to a
university library. Is any information about this work available online?
Also, I wonder why it is that Dembski did not cite these papers in his reply
to me on this subject. Perhaps it's because the fit to his Design Inference
is not sufficiently close for them to be considered an application of it.
What we really need is for Dembski to give his seal of approval to a
particular calculation. Until then, we will be left guessing about whether
this or that calculation really is a valid application of the Design
Inference or not.
Richard Wein (Tich)
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