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As a biologist, how do you account for the existence of life?
by jononomo 2y ago
As a biologist, how do you account for the existence of life?
- dang 2y agoWe detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40627070 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40627070.
- koeng 2y agoThere was an RNA molecule or molecules that could make more of themselves (probably really poorly, at first)
- jononomo 2y agoHave you read a book called The Stairway to Life: An Origin-of-Life Reality Check by Tan & Stadler? You can find it on Amazon. It's pretty short and will get you thinking rigorously about the problem.
- koeng 2y agoNo. But I feel like it is unlikely I'll find much value in it. Part 1 being on the Venter work does NOT inspire confidence at all. Not to dismiss them - they're great I've worked with them on a couple projects - but it frankly doesn't have anything to do with abiogenesis. The other fact that lots of creationists like it doesn't bode well either. Like, of COURSE the Venter cell looks too complicated to originate from raw chemicals! The lineage it evolved from was far more complex, and Mycoplasma underwent minimization. Minimal life also does not equal simple life, or life that was most probable to arise from chemicals. Just a stupid premise, really.
- sho 2y ago[flagged]
- dang 2y agoPlease don't perpetuate religious flamewars on HN. It's the last thing we need here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Edit: please see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40648381 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40648381 also, because you broke the site guidelines badly downthread.
- jononomo 2y ago[flagged]
- dang 2y agoWe've banned this account for starting and perpetuating flamewars on HN and ignoring our requests to stop. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- koeng 2y agoIt’s hard to see how it would be evidence based if the evidence’s premise is fundamentally flawed - just in such a niche way that people not in my field wouldn’t be able to see it. They’re kinda preying on the fact that people like you can’t see it, and that’s sad.
- sho 2y agoAlso searchable by its other title "God of the Gaps Volume 6,000 - Forget the Other 5999, This Time We're Really Sure, Can You Stop Doing Research Now Please"
- jononomo 2y agoYes, I bite the bullet on the god of the gaps when it comes to the origin of life.
- jononomo 2y agoAnd I'm not opposed to doing research, of course (hard to believe I have to clarify this) In fact I want people to research the question of the origin of life as rigorously and exhaustively as possible because it is just going to make it that much more obvious that life was designed by God. I have absolutely no fear that this "gap" is going to do anything but widen.