On Wednesday, May 9, 2012 12:45:48 AM UTC-4, Devils Advocaat wrote:
> On May 9, 2:23 am, "Syd M."
I never saw the calculation, just the quote.
What were the assumptions to his calculation?
I suspect that the assumptions that he was making were
physically reasonable. However, unless I see what assumptions
he was making, then I can't prove them.
I read about pangenesis, Hoyle's biological theory. He makes several
errors, with regards to the biology. I don't think he knew biology at all.
I am not even sure why people think Hoyle was a great astronomer.
His steady state theory is basically wrong. I don't think there is a single
theory of his that has been proven correct by experiment or observation.
I know that he was highly regarded as an astronomer. Did he at least
make some valid observations through a telescope? As far as I can tell,
no hypothesis of his ever led to a fruitful line of research.
I read his comments concerning evolution, which were way wrong.
> Remember he was an astronomer, not a biologist, so his knowledge in
> matters of biological and chemical evolution would not have been as
> extensive as his knowledge of astronomy.
His biology was completely wrong. He imagines these heredity elements
floating in space, somehow influencing natural history. However, are
they supposed to cause nonrandom mutations in gametes? Do the grow
into new animals and plants by themselves? Do they cause slow changes
in organisms, large sudden changes? What sort of changes should scientists
being looking for today, that corresponds to his pangenesis? Or better:
How come these pangenesis elements floating around don't cause changes
today?
His theory of pangenesis isn't really a theory. He doesn't provide
experimentalists with any idea of what phenomena they are looking for.
Never mind whether it is true or false. It doesn't predict new phenomena.
It isn't quantitative. It doesn't explain any of the data collected by biologists, starting with Darwin.
Hoyle didn't even claim that the numbers were his own. I don't think
he even stated that 10^40,000 was his own calculation. There is no chain
of custody to that number. This is why no one seems interested in finding
any hard copy of that calculation. There seems to be this hypothesis that
something is authoritative only if it has no chain of custody. However, the
opposite is true.
>
> But it makes me laugh when creationists hold up his calculation as
> evidence of the impossibility of evolution, after all it was Hoyle
> that coined the phrase "big bang" in an attempt to ridicule a
> contemporary of his who proposed that the universe had a finite
> beginning. Hoyle was a supporter of the steady state theory.
Creationists may have inadvertently brought up a legitimate point.
I don't think it is valid for a scientist to make claims without a chain
of custody to those claims.
I would love to know how Hoyle came up with his theory of Pangenesis. I hope to see hard copy on his calculations, drawings he made showing what he meant, diagrams, and discussions with other scientists. Most of all, I want to
know how that probability (10^-40,000) was calculated.
I have done this with other scientists. I have read direct translations of Newton, and Carnot. I read several books by Darwin. I like to see how
scientists develop their ideas. I just don't read the ideas, I like to see
how they were developed. Did Hoyle provide any idea as to how his ideas
were developed? I find his craziest ideas passed around, but none of his
methodology.
Maybe I can ask something useful of Creationists. Can you guys
find the hard copy of those calculations Hoyle was supposed to have made?If the probability was calculated correctly, then maybe you have something.
Hoyle was an atheist, so I know that Creationists can get behind this.
Find me even one quantitative calculation by Hoyle.