Tag: optimality

^{Type
post

Author
Emily Reeves

Date
October 22, 2025

Categories
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Science Reporting
Tagged
, archetype, biological systems, biology, cold-spots, Daphne Major, Darwin's Finches, DNA, evolution, finches, fitness, Galápagos Islands, generalists, genetic variation, haplotype blocks, intelligent design, line, optimality, Pareto front, Pareto trajectory, Peter and Rosemary Grant, polytope, radiation, random mutations, randomness, specialists, systems biologists, trade-offs, triangle, Uppsala University, Uri Alon, Vilfredo Pareto}

Optimization: The Engineering Explanation for “Evolution Happening Before Our Eyes”

_{Emily Reeves
October 22, 2025

Evolution, Intelligent Design, Science Reporting

9}

On Daphne Major, a Galápagos island, there are three major types of finch food: large seeds, small seeds, and pollen and insects. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Andrew McDiarmid

Date
October 27, 2024

Categories
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, Brian Miller, diversity, epigenetic information, evolution, finch beaks, fitness landscapes, ID the Future, intelligent design, intermediates, life, mountains, optimality, podcast, Stephen Meyer, Stuart Burgess}

How Evolutionary Fitness Landscapes Bolster Design Arguments

_{Andrew McDiarmid
October 27, 2024

Evolution, Intelligent Design

3}

Imagine a large area with gentle rolling hills and valleys, or perhaps a rugged terrain complete with steep mountains and impassible gullies. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Andrew McDiarmid

Date
October 7, 2024

Categories
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, "poor design", animals, anterior cruciate ligament, Brian Miller, engineers, functions, ID the Future, Irreducible Complexity, joints, limbs, misuse, optimality, Stuart Burgess}

In Animal Joints, Multi-Functioning Challenges Evolution

_{Andrew McDiarmid
October 7, 2024

Evolution, Intelligent Design

2}

Joints include good examples of irreducible complexity, such as the knee joint’s four bar linkage or the arched structure of the foot. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Emily Reeves

Date
September 19, 2024

Categories
Biology
Engineering
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Physics
Tagged
, "poor design", biological systems, cells, Darwinian evolution, development, egg, embryo, foresight, fruit flies, information flow, intelligent design, intent, optimality, optimization, Princeton University, William Bialek}

Optimization: A Theoretical Principle That Is Predictive for Biology

_{Emily Reeves
September 19, 2024

Biology, Engineering, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Physics

7}

Are biological mechanisms optimized, or do they function poorly, evidence of their “poor design”? Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Andrew McDiarmid

Date
December 20, 2023

Categories
Engineering
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, "poor design", appendix, biologists, brain, Brian Miller, engineers, eyes, future, ID the Future, intelligent design, optimality, organs, unguided natural processes, vertebrate eye, vestigial structures}

Thanks to Optimal Design, Eyes and Brain Give a Glimpse of the Future

_{Andrew McDiarmid
December 20, 2023

Engineering, Evolution, Intelligent Design

2}

Although the brain can process images at breakneck speed, there are physical limits to how fast neural impulses can travel from the eye to the brain. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Date
April 14, 2023

Categories
Biology
Engineering
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Linguistics
Tagged
, assumptions, Casey Luskin, Center for Science and Culture, Discovery Institute, evidence, intelligent design, models, natural world, optimality, predictions, purpose, Science and Faith in Dialogue, teleology, tools}

Is a New Design-Based Paradigm of Biology Emerging?

_{Science and Culture
April 14, 2023

Biology, Engineering, Evolution, Intelligent Design, Linguistics

1}

Brian Miller reports that optimality is becoming a tool of prediction in biology, with more biologists returning to the use of design-based assumptions. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Emily Reeves

Date
March 7, 2022

Categories
Biology
Evolution
Fine-tuning
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, Bacillus subtilis, beauty, biological redundancy, biological systems, design triangulation, duplicate genes, E. coli, elegance, enzymes, evolution, fitness, function, gene expression, genetic information, intelligent design, laboratory conditions, Neo-Darwinism, optimality, precision, proteins, robustness, speakers, sporulation, Stanford University, storage, transmission}

Application of ID: Leveraging Design Triangulation to Anticipate Biological Redundancy

_{Emily Reeves
March 7, 2022

Biology, Evolution, Fine-tuning, Intelligent Design

8}

In previous posts, I’ve covered how neo-Darwinism can make biological redundancy more confusing than it should be. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Brian Miller

Date
August 27, 2021

Categories
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, "poor design", bioinformatics, biological structures, biologists, biosphere, Dan Graur, ENCODE, engineers, evolution, fitness landscape, human body, Human Errors, human genome, junk DNA, knee, Living with Darwin, Nathan Lents, optimality, pelvis, Philip Kitcher, scientific materialism, teleology, whales, Wikipedia}

Why Systems Biologists Now Assume Life Is Optimally Designed

_{Brian Miller
August 27, 2021

Evolution, Intelligent Design

7}

Purported examples of poor design usually represent opinions resulting from armchair critics’ limited understanding of the technical literature. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Emily Reeves

Date
May 25, 2021

Categories
Biology
Engineering
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, bioengineering, Erika DeBenedictis, intelligent design, MIT, optimality, Research, robustness, scientists, TEDx talk}

Concluding Comments: Playing God vs. Respecting Design

_{Emily Reeves
May 25, 2021

Biology, Engineering, Intelligent Design

7}

It truly matters that we follow the evidence to its logical end and base our research and applications on that end. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Emily Reeves

Date
May 24, 2021

Categories
Bioethics
Biology
Intelligent Design
Medicine
Tagged
, "poor design", bioengineering, biological information, biotechnology, blindness, design intuition, Erika DeBenedictis, evolutionary processes, genome, genome editing, Hg38, intelligent design, iPhone, MIT, optimality, TEDx talk}

Intelligent Design Has Implications for Genome Editing

_{Emily Reeves
May 24, 2021

Bioethics, Biology, Intelligent Design, Medicine

6}

Biology is a lavish display of sophisticated designs exceeding all human engineering to date. Read More ›