Science and Culture Today Discovering Design in Nature
pony returns
Latest

Return of the Christmas Pony – Robert Marks on Modeling Darwinian Evolution

Categories
Evolution
Science
Share
Facebook
Twitter/X
LinkedIn
Flipboard
Print
Email
pony

Now what were the chances of this? The other day we saw how, in his new book, Purpose and Desire: What Makes Something “Alive” and Why Modern Darwinism Has Failed to Explain It, biologist J. Scott Turner tells the story of the Christmas pony, with a girl as the protagonist. For Dr. Turner it is a parable about how evolutionists eagerly seek a coherent theory under a lot of horse manure.

In a new ID the Future episode, Baylor University professor Robert J. Marks, of Evolutionary Informatics Lab fame, tells the same story. Interesting. But now the protagonist is a boy being studied by scientists for his habitual unrealistic optimism. Again it’s a parable about how Darwinists so far haven’t produced anything like a hard science, complete with a mathematical model for how unguided evolution works. There’s a lot of horse manure, though, and they’re sure the model, like the hoped-for pony, must be under there somewhere.

Should we join them in their optimism? Or take seriously their excuses for why they haven’t found what you’d minimally expect from a hard science? Dr. Marks doesn’t think so, as he tells Robert Crower of the Center for Science & Culture. Download the podcast here, or listen to it here.

Maybe evolution is just too complicated to model? Or maybe computer simulations have already provided a sufficient demonstration that evolution works as advertised? Or maybe Bob Marks should stop asking questions about this since he’s an engineer, not a biologist?

Sorry, none of these evasions will fly, any more than a pony will. Writing for the general reader, Marks and co-authors, William Dembski and Winston Ewert, explain why in their new book, Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics. Get it now. Oh, and in case you haven’t yet, don’t forget to pre-order Purpose and Desire now to get your two free e-books. Details are here.

Photo credit: Alexas_Fotos, via Pixabay.

David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Science and Culture Today
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. He is the author of seven books including Plato’s Revenge: The New Science of the Immaterial Genome and The Lord Will Gather Me In: My Journey to Jewish Orthodoxy. A former senior editor at National Review, he has contributed to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other publications. He received an A.B. magna cum laude from Brown University in 1987. Born in Santa Monica, CA, he lives on Mercer Island, WA.
Benefiting from Science & Culture Today?
Support the Center for Science and Culture and ensure that we can continue to publish counter-cultural commentary and original reporting and analysis on scientific research, evolution, neuroscience, bioethics, and intelligent design.

© Discovery Institute