Disciplines « ASA PSCF Discussion

The Evolutionary Origins of Genetic Information

By Stephen Freeland, on November 18th, 2011%

by Stephen Freeland
Any living branch of science achieves progress by testing new ideas. The results of these tests determine whether each new idea is accepted as a change to what we thought we knew, is dismissed as incorrect, or simply stagnates, owing to a lack of clear evidence. For evolutionary theory, one such proposition is that . . . → Read More: The Evolutionary Origins of Genetic Information

Biological Information, Molecular Structure, and the Origins Debate

By Jonathan Watts, on November 18th, 2011%

by Jonathan K. Watts
Biomolecules contain tremendous amounts of information; this information is “written” and “read” through their chemical structures and functions. A change in the information of a biomolecule is a change in the physical properties of that molecule—a change in the molecule itself. It is impossible to separate the information contained in biomolecules from their . . . → Read More: Biological Information, Molecular Structure, and the Origins Debate

Chaos and Chaos-Complexity Theory: Understanding Evil Forces with Insights from Contemporary Science and Linguistics

By Janet Warren, on November 18th, 2011%

by E. Janet Warren
Since the Bible lacks a cohesive demonology, scholars tend to either maximize or minimize the ontology of evil. I suggest two solutions to reconcile these views: metaphor theory can elucidate the diverse biblical descriptors, and chaos-complexity theory can provide a model for demonology. Metaphors/models can depict reality, are frequently used in science, and . . . → Read More: Chaos and Chaos-Complexity Theory: Understanding Evil Forces with Insights from Contemporary Science and Linguistics

Biological Complexity

By Harry Cook, on August 16th, 2011%

by Harry Cook and Hank D. Bestman
Complexity is often defined in the language of mathematics, computers, or information theory. We examine biological complexity as it occurs in the cytoplasm’s relation to nuclear function, and in the case of epigenetics. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the pendulum swings between appreciation of biological holism and complexity, and . . . → Read More: Biological Complexity

Evangelicals, Creation, and Scripture: Legacies from a Long History

By Mark Noll, on August 16th, 2011%

by Mark A. Noll
This article specifies fifteen attitudes, assumptions, and convictions from the long history of western interaction between Christianity and science that continue to shape the perceptions of American conservative Protestants to this day. It finds three of them arising in the Middle Ages and early modern period, five from early United States history, five . . . → Read More: Evangelicals, Creation, and Scripture: Legacies from a Long History

Seeking a Signature

By Dennis Venema, on May 24th, 2011%

by Dennis Venema

Essay Review of SIGNATURE IN THE CELL: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent
Design by Stephen C. Meyer. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2009.
viii + 613 pages. Hardcover; $28.99. ISBN: 9780061472787.

Stephen C. Meyer’s recent tome Signature in the Cell (hereafter, Signature) represents the “state of the art” for the intelligent design (ID) movement with respect . . . → Read More: Seeking a Signature

Claiming Complementarity: Twentieth-Century Evangelical Applications of an Idea

By Christopher Rios, on May 23rd, 2011%

by Christopher M. Rios

Over the course of the twentieth century the concept of complementarity earned considerable support among evangelical scientists. Leading figures in both the USA and Britain argued that science and theology offered distinct perspectives of the natural world that were reconcilable, if recognized as complementary descriptions rather than mutually exclusive claims. Though not without . . . → Read More: Claiming Complementarity: Twentieth-Century Evangelical Applications of an Idea

Does the Earth Move?

By George Murphy, on May 23rd, 2011%

by George L. Murphy

Einstein’s theory of relativity means, among other things, that a modified version of Tycho Brahe’s earth-centered model of the planetary system is, in principle, as good as Copernicus’ sun-centered model. The question of whether the earth or the sun “really” moves is meaningless in this theory. After dealing with challenges to this claim, . . . → Read More: Does the Earth Move?

Sediment Transport and the Coconino Sandstone: A Reality Check on Flood Geology

By Timothy Helble, on February 17th, 2011%

by Timothy K. Helble

The origin of a graphical procedure developed by a prominent Flood geologist to estimate the water depth and current speed associated with deposition of cross-bedded sandstones during a global Flood is examined. It is shown how this graphical pro- cedure was used to estimate a widely quoted depth and speed of Flood waters . . . → Read More: Sediment Transport and the Coconino Sandstone: A Reality Check on Flood Geology

Kepler and the Laws of Nature

By Owen Gingerich, on February 17th, 2011%

by Owen Gingerich

Kepler is famous for his three laws of planetary motion, but he never assigned a special status to them or called them laws. More than a century and a half passed before they were singled out and ordered in a group of three. Nevertheless, he believed in an underlying, God-given rationale to the universe, . . . → Read More: Kepler and the Laws of Nature

ASA PSCF Discussion