bluejay writes:
Somebody, please put forth an idea as to how we could discern this Designer's influence in nature. I promise not to ridicule or attack your idea on grounds of current evidence, at least until we've nailed down a theoretical framework whereby the idea could be directly tested (I cannot promise that everybody else will do this, though).
I'm going to go through a though experiment on this one.
What evidence would lead biology to examine a designer hypothesis?
1) A master genome, that is, latent genes geared towards extremely specific environmental conditions. For example, if the human genome had a set of genes that when expressed made the body impervious to the effects of zero gravity. Not just partially better, but fully functional right from the get go. A designer would most likely have planned for the future after all.
2) Specific features expressed identically in genes across unrelated species. For example, a species of lobster, octopus and whale that all had a genetically identical method for removing mercury from their bodies, found in no other species.
3) The babelfish hypothesis. For example, the discovery of a species of plant that produced a berry that cured all human ailments.
I'm sure there are others, but even these first three that I could imagine are stretching the limits.
Even if every one of these possibilities was discovered, it raises the question, why only these specific instances? Why doesn't every species show this kind of evidence?
At least if the ID movement was out there searching for instances like this that (IMO) point heavily towards some kind of designer, they would be contributing to science as a whole.
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