SETI Offerred as Proof of ID

It seems that http://www.seti.org/site/pp.asp?c=ktJ2J9MMIsE&b=178025”]Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence[/url] (SETI) is being offered up by the Religious Right as proof of Intelligent Design. An outline of the logic behind this is summarized by an article at Space.com

What many readers will not know is that SETI research has been offered up in support of Intelligent Design.

The way this happens is as follows. When ID advocates posit that DNA—which is a complicated, molecular blueprint—is solid evidence for a designer, most scientists are unconvinced. They counter that the structure of this biological building block is the result of self-organization via evolution, and not a proof of deliberate engineering. DNA, the researchers will protest, is no more a consciously constructed system than Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. Organized complexity, in other words, is not enough to infer design.

But the adherents of Intelligent Design protest the protest. They point to SETI and say, "upon receiving a complex radio signal from space, SETI researchers will claim it as proof that intelligent life resides in the neighborhood of a distant star. Thus, isn’t their search completely analogous to our own line of reasoning—a clear case of complexity implying intelligence and deliberate design?" And SETI, they would note, enjoys widespread scientific acceptance.

If we as SETI researchers admit this is so, it sounds as if we’re guilty of promoting a logical double standard. If the ID folks aren’t allowed to claim intelligent design when pointing to DNA, how can we hope to claim intelligent design on the basis of a complex radio signal? It’s true that SETI is well regarded by the scientific community, but is that simply because we don’t suggest that the voice behind the microphone could be God?

Representatives at SETI then go on to point out that they are not searching for complexity but artificiality.
I would add to SETI's rebut by pointing out that a noise deemed significantly artificial would not be taken as final proof of other life, but only open the door to a barrage of additional, critical examination and this is the crux of the difference between science and the flim flam replacement that is continually being offered up by the Christian Community.

Cross Posted at Jabberwockee

[inkadu]

This idea is so stupid it makes my brain hurt.

inkadu wrote

This idea is so stupid it makes my brain hurt.

LOL! Its good for us to test our limits.

How ridiculous can these people get? There is clearly no connection. Black holes and other bodies certainly emit electromagnetic radiation, but engineers have known about it for years, and have devised ways of separating signal from noise. It's not like looking for codes in the Bible (or in Moby Dick for that matter). It is thought, for instance, that a sharp click can only be produced by a synthetic device. If someone could trace a string of them to a specific solar system, it'd be difficult to explain away. It'd be as if someone found a human skeleton inside a t-rex fossil; there'd also be a huge effort to debunk it, thus creating an opportunity for extensive, methodological science.

It's not like SETI is a pillar of materialism. It's an interesting research area that has a small potential to answer some deep questions.

[Choobus]

I think they are getting confused with the Search for Highly Intelligent Teleology program

Of course, if scientists at SETI heard a radio transmission and it were in ancient Hebrew or Aramaic, and some loud voice said, "I AM," then proceeded to describe the birthmark on Jesus's left butt-cheek, then possibly...in a miniscule way...they might posit the existence of some nut claiming to be god.

[Victus]

Worst comparison ever. Theists should skip life and move on to their skyland with the pixies.

inkadu wrote

This idea is so stupid it makes my brain hurt.

You too? I thought it was just my tumor actin' up.

snap crafter wrote

You too? I thought it was just my tumor actin' up.

my headache is bad enough...

How can these people confuse complexity with artificiality?

Some of the greatest inventions made by man were extraordinarily simple; like the lever/fulcrum concept, for instance. It has moved rock faces.

The id-ists are obviously grasping at straws in a desperate attempt to gain more positive recognition.
ee

evident_enigma wrote

The id-ists are obviously grasping at straws in a desperate attempt to gain more positive recognition.
ee

Yes, and their desperation makes them creative....I call it Entertainment.

[Sternwallow]

Daniel wrote

Of course, if scientists at SETI heard a radio transmission and it were in ancient Hebrew or Aramaic, and some loud voice said, "I AM," then proceeded to describe the birthmark on Jesus's left butt-cheek, then possibly...in a miniscule way...they might posit the existence of some nut claiming to be god.

:lol::lol: Nice

[Gnosital]

Jennifer wrote

Yes, and their desperation makes them creative....I call it Entertainment.

But the scary thing is, something like 1 out of 5 US citizens believes the sun revolves around the earth, and nearly half think humans and dinosaurs coexisted, and I forget how many of 'em believe in virgin birth, so it's unlikely that they're going to grasp that this comparison is completely whackassed. I'm betting a vast majority of "normal" people are going to think, "Hey, them IDers is really onto somethin there! Damn, they's smart."

[Choobus]

Are you serious? There are about 60 million americans, the most advanced scientific nation on earth, who believe that the earth revolves around the sun.

Oh, wait, sorry, I mean the sun revolves around the earth. It's so fucking stupid I can't even write it. I was wondering how monkey boy got to be prez, but now it doesn't seem so strange.

[Gnosital]

Yeah. Now you know why I want to be Canadian.