The Footprints of the Atoms

Alfredo Archilla

Description

This book presents a new paradigm for the origin of Life on Earth by introducing the atomic definition of life and comparing it to the traditional organic meaning of life. 

It searches for the carbon-based origin of life, makes a detailed logical evaluation of the Intelligent Design hypothesis, and explains why it is a valid scientific hypothesis that needs an improved argument. 

  

It challenges the random environmental condition of the abiogenesis hypotheses as a viable one to explain the presence of the carbon-based cell compared to the biogenesis reproduction process.  

  

It introduces a new definition for the information concept to support two deductive reasoning arguments that infer the past existence of an intelligent entity as the responsible cause for the emergence of carbon-based cells and their genetic information. 

  

Amongst other topics, it discusses in detail the practical use of Karl Popper’s falsifiability concept. It introduces a new definition of existence to help us find Bertrand Russell’s teapot orbiting between Earth and Mars and demystify the wrong notion that we cannot prove a negative. It also explains why the Explanatory Power of a hypothesis used in the philosophy of science is not a practical comparison tool for choosing the best possible explanation between competing hypotheses. 

  

Finally, it reviews evolution’s vital role as a cause in the same line of actions as the emergence of the carbon-based cell for the presence and complexity of Earth’s carbon-based living entities. And ultimately challenges future generations to look for the origins of life at the atomic level in the structure and functionality of the carbon-based cells.

Sujets

• Molecular Biology
• Life Sciences
• Sciences et techniques
• Biology
• General officer
• Genomics
• General
• 454 Life Sciences
• Genetics
• Science

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 23 juillet 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781977222510
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

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The Footprints of the Atoms A New Paradigm for the Origin of Life All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2023 Alfredo Archilla v2.0
The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Outskirts Press, Inc. http://www.outskirtspress.com
Cover Photo © 2023 wwwistockphotos © 2005 The patriot-News. All rights reserved. [Reprinted/used] with permission.
Outskirts Press and the "OP" logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Table of Contents
Introduction
Prologue
Chapter 1: About the Origin of Life
What do we mean by origin?
What do we mean by life?
The Paradigm Shift of Life
What do we mean by the Origin of life?
Atomic Origin of Life
Carbon-Based Origin of Life
Chapter 2: What is the ID Proposition?
Chapter 3: What is the ID Hypothesis?
Discovery Institute
Center for Science and Culture FAQs
Inferred ID Hypothesis
Chapter 4: Is the ID hypothesis science?
Chapter 5: Is the ID hypothesis scientific?
Does the ID-H meet the SMA criteria?
The Phlogiston Theory
Chapter 6: Inferred ID Argument
Chapter 7: Is the Inferred ID Argument Valid?
Chapter 8: Is the ID Hypothesis False?
Chapter 9: In Search of the Truth
Chapter 10: Testing a Theory False
Chapter 11: Falsifying a Hypothesis
Testing Karl Popper’s Falsifiability Concept
Blue Winged Unicorns
Truliviability Concept
Is the ID hypothesis falsifiable?
Chapter 12: The Paradigm Shift of Existence
Chapter 13: Testing a Historical Event Hypothesis
Chapter 14: Comparing Competing Hypotheses
The Comparison Logical Framework
ID and Abiogenesis, competing hypotheses?
The pyramids of Egypt
ID and Abiogenesis, the only competing hypotheses?
The Biological Entity
The Biological Entity Argument
Is the BE the ID?
Genetic Manipulation
The Comparison Method
The Explanatory Power of a Hypothesis
Chapter 15: Is the ID hypothesis a theory?
Chapter 16: The Paradigm Shift of Information
What is a thought?
What is Information?
Can you guess?
Physical Representation of Thoughts
Information tests
Chapter 17: An Alternate Argument for the Origin of the DNA Information
The Parietal Art
Chapter 18: Genetic Information vs. the Cell
Chapter 19: Can information alone create a new cell?
Hello World!
Chapter 20: Genetic Information vs. Human Beings
Chapter 21: Is the cell processing information?
Chapter 22: An Argument for the Origin of the Carbon-Based Cell
Chapter 23: From Matter to Life
Chapter 24: Back to the Origin of Life
Epilogue
Important Definitions
Logic 101
What is logic?
What is a logical argument?
Argument Examples
What is a logical analysis?
What is a fallacy?
Reasoning Modes
The Beans from the Bag
Bibliography
About the Author
Dedication
Introduction
I always embrace this kind of analysis with great optimism and silent hope that one of these days, humankind will eventually discover the origins of life as we know it.
And it is excellent to learn about the advances scientists make at the forefront of this effort and the disappointing failures and setbacks they encounter, both equally necessary to advance our knowledge about the reality we all live in.
But it is far more interesting to see how an increasing number of well-educated people from different beliefs and dogmas around the world are detouring from their traditional blind faith into the realms of science in the search for answers to relevant questions about our observed reality. Some are motivated by a genuine interest in finding facts and evidence to separate lies from truth. In contrast, others seek confirmation of their rooted beliefs with a clear intention to lie and deceive an audience of people that, for many reasons, have a particular need to perpetuate their ideas. And if you tell them what they want to hear, whether true or false, they will always accept this new scientific work as undeniable truth.
However, the biggest challenge these educated groups of believers have is not to understand the points of view that science disciplines impose to search for those answers but to overcome the deep cognitive biases engraved in their "mind’s DNA" by their respective traditions and beliefs.
These inherent biases make them look at reality from a perspective that distorts most of the reasoning processes they use to reach many conclusions.
And although some of the work published by this new breed of scientists is very detailed and well-documented, most of it fails to reach logical conclusions, perhaps driven by their author’s cognitive bias. This major limitation effectively impedes their ability to make significant contributions to science.
Unfortunately, our greatest minds are busy working at the front edge of the knowledge wave, preparing the road for future generations. And they don’t seem to dedicate enough time to do good peer reviews and effectively filter these scientific proposals, leaving a space in our society where deception, delusion, and misconceptions live and prosper.
However, I have found it very difficult to ignore the above scenario as it unfolds in front of my own eyes without feeling a moral and ethical responsibility to future generations to seek to differentiate, to the best of our knowledge, between a truth and a lie.
And although I’m trying to survive my day-to-day endeavors, I have committed to reviewing a few exciting topics that have been hostages of old traditional points of view. To help those who want to know the truth but don’t have the time and knowledge to analyze these materials effectively.
In this respect, too many topics and publications on different subjects exist. But for many reasons, I have chosen to address the case of the origin of life on Earth. This topic has been stagnant for a couple of decades without a clear direction on where to go next.
While researching this topic, I found ignoring some published work virtually impossible. Especially the intelligent design hypothesis documented in the Signature in the Cell book about the DNA Evidence for Intelligent Design written by Dr. Stephen C. Meyer (Meyer, 2009), Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute 1 and Director of the Center for Science and Culture of Seattle, WA. I found his proposal well aligned with the main topic of this work, but also very intriguing, somehow unique in its reasoning approach, and honest in its pursuit of answers to very fundamental scientific questions about the origin of life and our existence here on planet Earth, but above all very well documented, with an excellent history of events associated with its interaction with the scientific community, the general public, the public school system, and our legal system.
And if you have never heard about the Intelligent Design hypothesis, I recommend you gain some basic understanding before reading this material. You will find lots of information on the subject online that will significantly facilitate the comprehension of the information contained herein.
Therefore, the work I describe here is primarily my interpretation and critical evaluation of some of the most predominant topics of science related to the origin of life on Earth.
But this personal interpretation could not be adequately stated and communicated without challenging some of the most basic and relevant aspects surrounding our current paradigms about life, our existence, and other relevant scientific concepts. So, suppose we want to advance our understanding of these critical topics. In that case, we need to be open to the possibility that maybe it is time to consider challenging some of our traditional points of view with a different reference framework.
I also recommend that you glance in advance through the Important Definitions and the Logic 101 sections at the end of the book to become familiar with some important definitions and the topics of logical fallacies and reasoning modes. These will help you gain some basic knowledge to comprehend better the materials presented here.
I hope that all of you can find it interesting, but more importantly, it can help us advance in the coming years one more step to shed some light on this vital topic of the origin of life on planet Earth.
Prologue
Throughout these materials, I will review some of the most relevant aspects of the beginning of life on Earth, but not all of them. I will focus primarily on the topics that I think will have the most significant impact to help us understand the logical implications of our current paradigms, which you will recognize as a recurrent theme throughout the book.
When adequate, I will also take the opportunity to evaluate some topics to challenge current assumptions, definitions, and interpretations that make up our existing paradigm about life on Earth.
You will find lots of constructive confrontations on the topics that I strongly disagree with, as well as very positive remarks on the ones with which I strongly agree. All of this with one end in mind to contribute to advancing our understanding of those important topics.
Chapter 1 is about the "origin of life." When combined, the basic definitions of "origin" and "life" are revised to improve our understanding of their meaning.
Also, I take the opportunity to introduce a new definition of life to reconcile the meanings of life from different disciplines of science under the same umbrella.
Then a comparison between the traditional and the new definition of life is outlined, which open