ID the Future Intelligent Design, Evolution, and Science Podcast
Topic

fossil discontinuities

creatures-of-the-cambrian-period-underwater-scene-with-anomalocaris-opabinia-hallucigenia-pirania-and-dinomischus-3d-science-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
creatures of the Cambrian period, underwater scene with Anomalocaris, Opabinia, Hallucigenia, Pirania and Dinomischus (3d science illustration)
Type
post
Author
Casey Luskin
Date
July 10, 2023
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Why Intelligent Design Best Explains the Fossil Record Data

Casey Luskin
July 10, 2023
The fossil record reveals sudden explosions of new life forms followed by long periods of stasis. Is this evidence to be expected from a gradual Darwinian model? On this episode of ID The Future, host Eric Anderson talks with Casey Luskin on location at this year’s Conference on Engineering and Living Systems (CELS). Luskin discusses three different models of the fossil record - the gradual descent model, the punctuated equilibrium model, and the explosion model. He explains why gradual Darwinian models are built on a lack of data and cannot adequately explain the patterns revealed in the record. He also shows that the sudden appearance of complex organisms and long periods of non-change are exactly what we would expect to find from a design perspective. "These organisms...are designed to change within limits," says Luskin, "and that's why we see stasis." Indeed, the fossil record is consistent with the engineering-based theory of bounded adaptation, the idea that organisms are deeply designed, purposeful, and capable of adapting within their operating parameters. It's an intriguing new way to look at the history of life on earth. Says Luskin, "The only way you're going to be able to generate all the information needed to yield an organism that's alive and functional all at once is through an intelligent cause." Don't miss this intriguing conversation! Casey Luskin holds a PhD in Geology from the University of Johannesburg, where he specialized in paleomagnetism and the early plate tectonic history of South Africa. He serves as Associate Director of Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. Want to dive deeper into the fascinating explosions of plant and animal life in the geologic record? Luskin recommends reading a chapter by Stephen C. Meyer and Gunter Bechly (Chapter 10) on the topic, in Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique. Available here: https://www.discovery.org/b/theistic-evolution/ Read More ›
cloudina-carinata-early-metazoan-worn-shaped-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Cloudina Carinata, early metazoan worn-shaped
Type
post
Author
Günter Bechly
Date
October 5, 2020
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The Demise of the Artifact Hypothesis

Günter Bechly
October 5, 2020
paleoentomologist Günter Bechly makes the case that recent findings have put the nails in the coffin of this “artifact hypothesis.” He goes on to argue that these findings are “not just a tiny problem but a fatal problem” for modern Darwinism. Read More ›
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IDTF-thumbnail
Type
post
Author
Günter Bechly
Date
February 19, 2018
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Günter Bechly on Fossils and Common Descent, Pt 1

Günter Bechly
February 19, 2018

Sarah Chaffee interviews German paleontologist Günter Bechly on the book Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique, specifically his chapter with Stephen Meyer on The Fossil Record and Universal Common Ancestry. Bechly, who had been a prominent proponent of Darwinism, discovered late in his career that there are significant scientific reasons to doubt the evolutionary story. His chapter in the book describes some of these reasons.

Read More ›
Discovery Institute