iDesign @ UCI

Welcome Message To New Students

Interested in Origins?
Join the club.


Mission Statement

FAQ

Organization


MISSION STATEMENT:

iDesign Club at UCI seeks to foster scientific discussions regarding the origins of life and the universe. Theories such as Darwinian evolution, intelligent design, and creationism will be critically analyzed.


FAQ:

Q: WHAT IS THIS CLUB ABOUT?

Origins! We are interested in discussing alternative theories to the origins of biological structures. While the current mainstream theory in academia is Darwinian evolution, we would also like to discuss other viable ideas, such as intelligent design.

Q: WHO CAN BE A MEMBER OF THIS CLUB?

Anybody! Students of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Anthropology, and Philosophy may especially find this club intriguing. However, you do not need to have a science background to be an effective member of this club.

Q: WHEN AND WHERE ARE CLUB MEETINGS?

Please check blog entries for time and place.

Q: WHAT IS THE MEMBERSHIP FEE?

Nothing! There are no membership dues.

Q: IS THIS CLUB BIASED TOWARDS ONE SPECIFIC THEORY OF ORIGINS?

Perhaps. Ponder the name of this club. This club is ideologically the mirror of another club at UCI, the Students for Science and Skepticism. However, our main goal is to give a balanced view of the controversy regarding the origins of life so that students can come to an informed conclusion themselves.

Q: WHAT DOES THE LETTER "i" STAND FOR IN iDESIGN?

Good question -- the answer is intelligent.

Q: WHERE IS THE CLUB CONSTITUTION?

We adhere to the minimum constitution that was provided by the Dean of Students. In the future, we plan to draft a comprehensive constitution and bylaws.

Q: IS iDESIGN AFFILIATED WITH ANY ORGANIZATION?

No. However, we are friends with the IDEA Center


ORGANIZATION:

PRESIDENT:
Arthur
Information and Computer Science

VICE PRESIDENT:
Brian
Biology / English

DIRECTOR:
Andrew
English / Economics



Tuesday, August 29, 2006

The folks at Panda's Thumb may be in the market for a new name...

I found this at Uncommon Descent:

panda thumb

When we visited the zoo the other day, my wife snapped this photo just outside of the Panda play area. I guess when they put together the verbage for the sign, they neglected to consult Gould because I didn’t read “looks jury-rigged” anywhere on there.

Further down in the comment thread, Markus Rammerstorfer has posted snippets from a Nature article on the Panda's Thumb:

The way in which the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, uses the radial sesamoid bone — its ‘pseudo-thumb’ — for grasping makes it one of the most extraordinary manipulation systems in mammalian evolution..... We have shown that the hand of the giant panda has a much more refined grasping mechanism than has been suggested in previous morphological models.
Endo, H et al. (1999): Role of the giant panda’s ‘pseudo-thumb’ Nature 397: 309-310

Sub-optimality is not, of course, a decisive blow to ID. Nevertheless, it's nice to see another example of how first assumptions based on evolutionary theory have been proven incorrect by further research. At the very least, it shows that sub-optimality claims need to be based on solid research, and not the ad-hoc "it is obviously not optimal" claim which passes for an argument against design in some circles.

Posted by Wedge at 4:50 PM | 0 Comments

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Genetic Algorithms for Steiner Trees

There is an interesting exchange going on between Salvador Cordova of Uncommon Descent and Dave Thomas of Panda's Thumb.

First, Dave posts about his genetic algorithm for finding Steiner trees ("the shortest networks of straight-line segments connecting a given collection of fixed points"). He claims his algorithm (explained in detail in an earlier post) is not targeted because it does not contain the optimal solution, but selects for incrementally better ones randomly. He challenges ID'ers to come up with a solution to the 6-node Steiner Tree problem. I think his aim was to prove how much better his genetic algorithm was than the intelligent attempts of design proponents.

Next, Salvador responds with a genetic algorithm he designed, which correctly finds the sum of the first 1,000 integers. The algorithm does not have a direct target (i.e., it is not explicitly searching for the answer), but instead uses Gauss's algorithm - obviously targeted in a secondary sort of way, which he implies is akin to Dave's Steiner tree algorithm.

Finally, Dave insists his algorithm is not targeted and is in no way analagous to Salvador's, which is blatantly targeted, and Salvador replies that of course his algorithm is targeted, and that the smoke and mirrors in his algorithm are indeed similar to Dave's.

The contentious issue here is what, exactly, constitutes a "target". Salvador's point is that if your cost function is intentionally designed to approach the solution you are looking for, the absense of the actual optimum value is a technicality. Dave's algorithm is clearly only good at finding Steiner trees because he designed the cost function to reward better Steiner trees. As johnnyb points out in a comment to Salvador's latest reply:

The problem is that the fitness function cannot be directly related to the problem being solved. Natural selection simply says the animal must survive or be better at reproduction, but somehow guides processes such as eye formation. Therefore, in a fitting scenario the selection algorithm should not directly correspond with what you are searching for, in fact there should be a large disconnect.

 This is exactly right, and so succinct I wish I'd come up with it myself. There may or may not be a genetic algorithm for constructing a structure like the human eye (depending on the number and structure of interdependencies between its parts). If one exists, then its cost function will be specifically designed for producing an object like the eye, whether the "target" is explicit or not. There is no evidence that a vague cost function like "survive" is capable of doing anything interesting.

Posted by Wedge at 4:36 PM | 0 Comments

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Chaperonin Design

A recent article in Nature explored the means by which certain proteins called chaperonins work. Chaperonins are proteins which help other proteins fold correctly. Specifically, they provide a "cage" in which the target protein can fold without interference. Artificially growing or shrinking the size of the cage can make certain proteins fold more quickly or slowly, but the overall size of the cage seems to be optimal given the number of proteins which this chaperonin interacts with.

Because the cell is so crowded with large molecules, it is energetically favorable for newly transcribed proteins to fold compactly, reducing the volume they occupy. If it weren't for chaperonins, this tendency would cause partially complete amino acid chains to bind with each other (there are many of these chains in close proximity because mRNA is transcribed by many ribosomes at once).

The upshot is that chaperonins use the energetic effects of crowding to stimulate folding while at the same time eliminating the negative effects of crowding - promiscuous binding to anything in the area. This is a neat trick. In the final paragraph of the article, the author (who, of course, credits natural selection with chaperonin design) even exhorts human designers to follow the example of chaperonins:

It is a testament to the ingenuity of natural selection that the chaperonin cage not only combats aggregation caused by crowding outside the cage but also uses crowding to accelerate protein folding inside the cage. Nanoengineers trying to improve the yield of therapeutic proteins could profit from studying the tricks of the chaperonin nanocage.

Posted by Wedge at 9:49 PM | 3 Comments

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Modularity in median-fin development

PZ Meyers has an interesting (and a bit over-my-head) post on the evolution median-fins over at his blog Pharyngula. Snipping the biology and leaving the punchline, he says:
A story is beginning to emerge, though, that shows that midline fin development and evolution is a wonderful example of a general principle: modularity and the reuse of hierarchies of genes.... The redeployment of previously refined genetic modules is going to turn out to be a universal property of evolved systems, I expect.
Modularity (perhaps even hierarchical modularity) in biological systems is becoming more and more evident, and I agree that we should expect to see a lot more of it in the future. But which is a more likely source of good engineering principles like modularity? Stochastic processes, or intelligence? Might there be different sorts or degrees of modularity that could serve as predictions of one theory or the other? In particular, is there any sort of modularity that is not predicted by evolutionary theory?

Posted by Wedge at 3:15 PM | 1 Comments

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Kansas And Evolution

This past week, Kansas Republican primary voters removed two conservatives from the Kansas Board of Education. The board now has a majority of evolution-only members, and the state's science standards (which currently call for the teaching of both the strengths and weaknesses of Darwinian theory) will likely be changed.

The Washington Post weighs in with an editorial. I would like to critique some of the statements made in this editorial.
The trouble with this liberal-seeming pose is that there is no scientific controversy over whether evolution happens or over its essential mechanisms.
Of course evolution happens. Evolution is simply non-cyclical change over time. The main question is whether blind evolutionary processes can possibly explain 1) the emergence of the first life 2) the full diversity of life. Should students be able to know that there is no real scientific consensus on how the first life originated?

Intelligent design can lead only to unintelligent students, or at least badly educated ones.

I think that a well-educated student should know about both intelligent design and evolution. And I do not see any problem with discussing the potential criticisms of Darwinian theory in the science classes of public schools.

Posted by Art at 11:43 PM | 0 Comments

"Life On Mars Rebuked"

AP reports, "After 10 years, life-on-Mars rebuked." The absence of even simple life in planets other than Earth appears to strengthen the Privileged Planet argument. By the way, you can watch the Privileged Planet documentary here (.ram file) with RealPlayer.

I found this sentence in the AP article interesting:

Some bacteria produce extraordinarily small and pure magnetite crystals, then align the magnetic grains to make a microscopic compass needle that helps them navigate.

I did not know that bacteria were that clever.

Posted by Art at 10:23 PM | 0 Comments

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

[Updated] iDesign URL Has Changed

The URL for this site may change soon. Bookmark our XML feed (which won't change) in order to keep track of this blog.

[Update]: We are now at http://idesignclub.blogspot.com

Posted by Art at 11:07 PM | 0 Comments


iDESIGN BLOGROLL:

The Design Paradigm
Design Watch
Creation-Evolution Headlines
Telic Thoughts
Uncommon Descent
ID the Future
ID Plus
CreationEvolutionDesign
Evolution News
Dualistic Dissension
ID in the UK
ID Update
Intelligently Sequenced


PRO-DESIGN SITES:

Access Research Network
IDEA Center
UCSD IDEA Club
ISCID


PRO-EVOLUTION SITES:

Panda's Thumb
Talk Origins
Students for Science and Skepticism at UCI
NAS: Science and Creationism


PRO-CREATION SITES:

Answers in Genesis
Institute for Creation Research
A.E. Wilder Smith
Reasons to Believe
Baraminology News
CreationWiki


OTHER INTERESTING SITES:

American Scientific Affiliation
Richard Sternberg


ANTEATER LINKS:

University of California, Irvine
New University
Irvine Review
School of Biological Sciences
School of Medicine
School of Physical Sciences
Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Science
Henry Samueli School of Engineering
UCI Athletics
UCI Alumni Association


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