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

Intelligent Design

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Ultimate Engineering: An Interview with Bioengineer Stuart Burgess

Evolutionary theory predicts a living world crowded with substandard designs. But as today’s guest reveals, the latest science has discovered just the opposite—designs so advanced they are at the limit of the possible, precisely as proponents of the theory of intelligent design have anticipated. On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes to the show award-winning British engineer and designer Stuart Burgess to begin a two-part conversation with me about the extraordinary engineering feats of the human body: ingenious systems and devices that demonstrate what Burgess calls Ultimate Engineering. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 in a separate episode! Read More ›
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Star explosion in a galaxy of an unknown universe
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Irreducible Intelligence: The Ultimate Origin of Biological Information

What is the ultimate origin of the information that powers life and the universe? For materialists, matter and energy are the fundamental stuff of life, but an even more crucial element is missing from that equation: information. And as our parents likely reminded us, you don't get anything in this life for free. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his four-part conversation with mathematician and philosopher Dr. William Dembski about his work on the law of conservation of information and how it can help us critically evaluate scientific theories of origins. In this final segment, Dembski explains the ultimate origin of information: what he calls irreducible intelligence. Don't miss other segments of this conversation in separate episodes! Read More ›
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Applying Information Conservation to Biological Origins

Nothing's free in life. It's a sobering reality we all come to realize in life. And this cold, hard truth also applies to the realm of biology. On today's ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid continues his four-part discussion with mathematician and philosopher Dr. William Dembski. The topic is Dembski's work on the law of conservation of information, a principle asserting that information within a search process is redistributed from pre-existing sources rather than materializing from nothing. In addition to being used in computer science and physics, the law can also be applied to theories of biological origins to evaluate which theory best comports with the reality that all information comes with a cost, and that cost must be adequately explained. This is Part 3 of a four-part conversation. Read More ›
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nautilus shell
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Why Intelligence is Necessary to Explain Nature’s Functional Information

We already have a well-established law that shows us how order can decrease in a physical system. But is there a law that explains an increase in order? Scientists have been looking for "nature's missing law" for a while, and while they might be asking the right questions, their training in a bottom-up reductionist framework is leading them to the wrong answers. On this ID The Future, mathematician and philosopher Dr. William Dembski continues a four-part conversation with host Andrew McDiarmid about his work on the law of conservation of information and its implications for theories that attempt to explain the origin of life and the universe. This is Part 2 of a four-part conversation. Read More ›
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Little boy hunting for egg in spring garden on Easter day. Traditional easter festival outdoors. Focus on multicolor eggs.
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Bill Dembski Reveals the Hidden Cost of Information

Chances are you’re already familiar with specified complexity, one of the mathematical pillars of the theory of intelligent design. There’s another pillar that is much less well known but equally vital: the law of conservation of information. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a four-part conversation with mathematician and philosopher Dr. William Dembski. The conversation unpacks Dembski’s work on the law of conservation of information and its implications for scientific theories like Darwinian evolution. In Part 1, Dr. Dembski begins by defining information fundamentally as the narrowing of possibilities, where specifying one outcome excludes others. Using his a simple analogy of location, he explains that identifying a specific place, like the town of Aubrey, Texas, provides more Read More ›

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Scientist with equipment and science experiments ,laboratory glassware containing chemical liquid for design or decorate your content,microscopoe .Pipette dropping a sample into a test tube
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Dr. Edward Peltzer: The Messy Reality of Prebiotic Chemistry

On today's ID the Future, host Casey Luskin continues a deep dive into the mounting hurdles facing origin of life (OOL) research with prebiotic synthesis expert Dr. Edward Peltzer. Peltzer, a seasoned ocean chemist and researcher, breaks down the critical flaws in the RNA world hypothesis, revealing that many successful lab experiments actually rely on investigator interference—intelligently designed interventions that researchers must make in experiments in order to yield results. But that's not how the prebiotic atmosphere would have worked, notes Peltzer: "Unless you've got graduate students and post-docs working on the early Earth to set up these conditions that were used in the experiments, it's not gonna happen." Peltzer also discusses how the goalposts of origin-of-life theory keep moving as our understanding of cellular complexity expands. And he shares a personal story of censorship as the discussion ends by exploring the risks faced by scientists who question the standard evolutionary paradigm. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 1 in a separate episode. Read More ›
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Iceland geothermal zone Namafjall - area in field of Hverir. Landscape which pools of boiling mud and hot springs. Tourist and natural attractions.
Image Credit: Natalia - Adobe Stock

Expert: Without Intelligence, Organic Chemistry Leads to Degradation, Not Life

By now, you may have heard about some of the problems facing the field of origin-of-life research. Maybe you’ve come across Dr. James Tour making the argument that origin-of-life researchers are nowhere near their goal of creating life in a lab or proving a chemical evolutionary scenario for the origin of life. On today's ID The Future, we hear from another expert in origin-of-life chemistry and prebiotic synthesis: Dr. Edward Peltzer. Host Casey Luskin begins a conversation with Peltzer about the significant chemical hurdles facing origin-of-life research, specifically regarding the synthesis of biological building blocks. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 in a separate episode. 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.
Statue of Charles Darwin. Licensed via Adobe Stock, wittayayut - stock.adobe.com

20 Years After Dover: Steve Fuller on Science, Censorship, and the “Church of Darwin”

In this ID The Future, host Casey Luskin concludes a two-part conversation with University of Warwick professor and author Steve Fuller reflecting on the 20th anniversary of the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial, a case that examined the constitutionality of teaching intelligent design in public schools. Fuller discusses his experience serving as an expert witness for the defense. He defends his support of a policy that merely informed students of alternative theories to Darwinian evolution. He explains why high school is an ideal time to encourage an open mind toward science. Then he pivots to discuss the deeper issue of institutional censorship in science and how establishment science functions as a religion. He characterizes intelligent design as "anti-establishment" and suggests there's hope for a more pluralistic approach to science in the near future. This is Part 2 of a two-part interview. Read More ›
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Professor Steve Fuller on the Rich Tradition of Intelligent Design

On this episode of ID the Future, host Casey Luskin begins a two-part conversation with University of Warwick professor Steve Fuller to reflect on the historical and philosophical foundations of intelligent design (ID) and the 20th anniversary of the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial. Fuller, an expert witness in the Dover trial and a scholar in the history and philosophy of science, challenges the popular "conflict thesis" that suggests that science and religion are perpetually at war. Instead, he describes a different historical understanding where modern science originated from a theological foundation, noting pioneers like Newton and Galileo, who viewed the universe as an intelligible machine designed by a divine mind. This tradition suggests that the very project of science was launched by the belief that human minds, created in the image and likeness of God, are capable of uncovering the logical laws governing reality. The conversation delves into why intelligent design should be viewed as a rich, interdisciplinary research tradition rather than a modern invention. Fuller explores the concept of biomimicry as a form of reverse engineering nature to uncover the hidden engineering elements within organisms. While Luskin notes that ID can be approached through purely scientific observations of intelligent agency, Fuller argues that theology remains a vital component because it explains why the designer uses "code" or the "logos"—be it in DNA or mathematical laws—as a creative medium. This insightful first part of a two-part series highlights how ID integrates biology, engineering, and information science to offer a comprehensive explanation for the complexity of the natural world. Read More ›
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paleontologists have discovered a fossil in the desert
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Integrity in Science: More with Maverick Scientist Forrest Mims

Honesty, humility, respect. Just a few of the essential qualities scientists need to do good science. Today, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes a conversation with engineer, inventor, writer, and self-taught scientist Forrest Mims about the role of integrity and humility in science, as well as the importance of solid data and good old-fashioned persistence. Should scientists be required to hide their personal values or religious convictions or check them at the door before conducting research? Mims says no and explains. What about humility? McDiarmid quotes from an older edition of On Being a Scientist, an educational booklet for young researchers published by the National Academies of Science. Highlighting the importance of scientific humility, the publication acknowledges that "science offers only one window on human experience. While upholding the honor of their profession, scientists must seek to avoid putting scientific knowledge on a pedestal above knowledge obtained through other means.” Thirty years later, is the scientific enterprise still as humble? Mims shares his thoughts. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›