Can artificial intelligence be applied to the scientific theory of Darwinian evolution to help us evaluate its strengths and weaknesses? On this episode of ID The Future, host Casey Luskin concludes his conversation with two distinguished PhD scientists who are asking tough questions of Neo-Darwinism: Olen Brown, Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Missouri, and David Hullender, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas, Arlington. In Part 2, Luskin discusses the latest paper from Brown and Hullender arguing that AI has strong but unrealized potential both for assessing and also solving major problems with the prevailing naturalistic account of life's origins. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
If there's anything left to salvage from the Neo-Darwinian theory of life's origins, it must first be rescued from dogma. On this episode of ID The Future, host Casey Luskin begins a conversation with two distinguished PhD scientists who are asking tough questions of Neo-Darwinism: Olen Brown, Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Missouri, and David Hullender, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas, Arlington. Luskin unpacks three recent scientific papers written by Brown and Hullender warning that Neo-Darwinism must be updated if it has any hope of surviving as a theory. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
We’re asleep an average of about 26 years of our life! Most people have a sense that sleep is important, but many of us aren't sure exactly why. Why is sleep so crucial to survival? And how did the processes of sleep emerge in living things? Could a gradual Darwinian process be responsible, or are the systems involved another instance of intelligent design? On this episode, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a conversation with Dr. Eric Hedin about the origin and intelligent design of sleep. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 next! Read More ›
London, England - December 4, 2019: Statue of Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist and biologist in Natural History Museum. London, United Kingdom.
Five years ago, Yale University professor of computer science David Gelernter wrote that he was bidding farewell to neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory. Why would he take such a bold step? What convinced him that the neo-Darwinian paradigm no longer satisfied the scientific evidence? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid marks the fifth anniversary of Gelernter's important essay by reading it aloud in full. If you’ve read the essay, this will likely be a good refresher on Gelernter’s arguments. If you haven’t read it yet, by all means enjoy! Read More ›
Vitalism is the age-old idea that living things possess a vital force – some fundamental element that generally does not exist in non-life. As a Darwinian paradigm took hold of the natural sciences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, vitalism fell out of favor. But as writer and teacher Daniel Witt reports, a willingness to flirt with vitalism seems to be growing in certain scientific circles. Read More ›
Can intelligent design and evolution work together? It's an intriguing idea that is welcomed by some, but does the scientific evidence support it? On this ID The Future, host Casey Luskin speaks with Dr. Emily Reeves to discuss her contribution to a recent paper critiquing theologian Dr. Rope Kojonen's proposal that mainstream evolutionary biology and intelligent design have worked in harmony to produce the diversity of life we see on earth. This is part of a series of interviews on this topic. Dig deeper with more resources and episodes at idthefuture.com. Read More ›
Happy family together, parents with their little child at sunset.
In his landmark book Darwin's Black Box, biochemist Michael Behe wrote that "to appreciate complexity, you have to experience it." On today's ID The Future, we conclude a three-part series with Dr. Jonathan McLatchie that dives into the complexity and design of sexual reproduction. In Part 3, Dr. McLatchie explains the design features of erectile function, the ejaculatory reflex, sperm chemotaxis, and the female egg cell. McLatchie reminds listeners how all separate parts work together as an irreducibly complex whole system. Be sure to catch Parts 1 and 2 of this informative series! Read More ›
If Charles Darwin could have peered into one of today's high-powered microscopes and seen the stunning complexity and function in even the simplest living cells, On the Origin of Species might have been a very different book! On this ID The Future, we go behind the scenes with biochemist Michael Behe to discuss his popular video series Secrets of the Cell. From overseeing intricate animation work to driving off-road in a Jeep through the backwoods, Dr. Behe spills some secrets of his own about his experience getting in front of the camera to bring the wonders of the cell to life. Read More ›
Is there life after death? Can science shed any light on this age-old question? And is the mind simply the workings of the brain, or is it something else? On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid chats with Dr. Jeffrey Long, a radiation oncology physician and one of the scientists featured in the new Angel Studios feature film After Death.
As founder of the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation, Dr. Long has investigated over 4,000 near-death experiences (NDEs), the largest number of near-death cases ever assembled and studied. The results of his research are published in the New York Times bestselling book Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences.
In this interview, Dr. Long explains the hallmarks of a near-death experience and the common themes found in most near-death accounts. He also shares nine lines of evidence that support the scientific case for afterlife consciousness. And he explains why skepticism is a healthy part of science, while ideological rigidity can inhibit the scientific pursuit of truth. Read More ›
On this ID The Future, we're pleased to share Daily Wire host Andrew Klavan's recent interview with Dr. Casey Luskin. Klavan loves science, but he smells a rat when famous scientists like Richard Dawkins use their displaced authority to make proclamations about science's relationship with religion. So after reading Luskin's recent Daily Wire article about progressives and their long history of banning intelligent design from the classroom, Klavan invited Luskin on his show to help his viewers better understand the theory of intelligent design and the reality of the evolutionary paradigm.
Luskin starts with the meanings of evolution and the questions that guide intelligent design researchers. He cites plenty of examples of design from biology and cosmology. Klavan then asks how badly people get censored for considering design perspectives in their work. Luskin explains, using the case of physicist Eric Hedin and his treatment at Ball State University as an example. Luskin rounds out the conversation by explaining how intelligent design uses the scientific method to detect the hallmarks of design in both living systems and the universe at large. "Science never gives us, under any conditions, absolute certainty," Luskin notes. "What it can allow us to do, though, is we can use the methods of historical sciences to infer the best explanation for a given situation given what we know about how the world works." Read More ›
