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the origin of life

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aspi-rant
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11 Jun 2011, 2:27 am

if this project results in success, will god(s) and religion die?

or will the believers tout another list of lame excuses?

Quote:
CERN lends a hand to the origin of life

FEATURE | JUNE 8, 2011 | BY JACQUI HAYES

In the beginning, the universe came into existence as a hot sea of barely-there particles. Soon, matter as we know it appeared: protons, neutrons and electrons, atoms formed. Next in the line were the first organic molecules and then, finally, life.

It’s a weird twist of fate that large-scale science investigations into these areas have appeared in the same order. While physicists at CERN currently study the origin of the universe and the origin of matter, in the future they may be asked to help crack the origin of life too. On May 20, a small group of chemists and biologists gathered at CERN for a brainstorming workshop discussing ideas about the origin of life, and to hear from CERN experts about how to organize a scientific community from disparate research groups and how to access powerful computational resources.

8< - - - -

read more:

http://www.isgtw.org/feature/cern-lends ... rigin-life



CrinklyCrustacean
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11 Jun 2011, 3:51 am

No, I don't think so. Proving the mechanism for the formation of life would show one way in which God(s) may have done it, but would not address the bigger question of whether God(s) did it in the first place.



ruveyn
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11 Jun 2011, 6:53 am

aspi-rant wrote:
if this project results in success, will god(s) and religion die?

or will the believers tout another list of lame excuses?



Yes.

ruveyn



Sand
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11 Jun 2011, 7:01 am

Once the scientists start producing artificial life and their powerful particle accelerators initiate miniature black holes and perhaps artificial universes religion may accede that perhaps there was some alien scientist that set everything going. But scientists are not necessarily interested in being worshiped. That might be a problem.



leejosepho
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11 Jun 2011, 7:11 am

Sand wrote:
Once the scientists start producing artificial life ... and perhaps artificial universes ...

How long might it be until they eventually produce something actually real, and then how much of their own "intelligence" behind all of that will be accepted as evidence of "intelligence" behind what is/was already real even before they began?

Sand wrote:
... religion may accede that perhaps there was some alien scientist that set everything going ...

Really?! Cool. I have been saying that all along!


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Sand
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11 Jun 2011, 7:31 am

leejosepho wrote:
Sand wrote:
Once the scientists start producing artificial life ... and perhaps artificial universes ...

How long might it be until they eventually produce something actually real, and then how much of their own "intelligence" behind all of that will be accepted as evidence of "intelligence" behind what is/was already real even before they began?

Sand wrote:
... religion may accede that perhaps there was some alien scientist that set everything going ...

Really?! Cool. I have been saying that all along!


Are you claiming computers are not real?



simon_says
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11 Jun 2011, 7:32 am

It would cripple the fundamentalist's arguments further. But mainstream believers will fall back on the fine tuning argument. That things evolved because a diety set the initial conditions to do that.



leejosepho
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11 Jun 2011, 7:34 am

Sand wrote:
leejosepho wrote:
Sand wrote:
Once the scientists start producing artificial life ... and perhaps artificial universes ...

How long might it be until they eventually produce something actually real, and then how much of their own "intelligence" behind all of that will be accepted as evidence of "intelligence" behind what is/was already real even before they began?

Sand wrote:
... religion may accede that perhaps there was some alien scientist that set everything going ...

Really?! Cool. I have been saying that all along!

Are you claiming computers are not real?

Only to whatever extent you might first consider/call them "artificial".


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Sand
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11 Jun 2011, 7:39 am

leejosepho wrote:
Sand wrote:
leejosepho wrote:
Sand wrote:
Once the scientists start producing artificial life ... and perhaps artificial universes ...

How long might it be until they eventually produce something actually real, and then how much of their own "intelligence" behind all of that will be accepted as evidence of "intelligence" behind what is/was already real even before they began?

Sand wrote:
... religion may accede that perhaps there was some alien scientist that set everything going ...

Really?! Cool. I have been saying that all along!

Are you claiming computers are not real?

Only to whatever extent you might first consider/call them "artificial".


But of course they are artificial, just as most religions are. None of them existed before humans appeared and created them.



leejosepho
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11 Jun 2011, 7:43 am

Sand wrote:
leejosepho wrote:
Sand wrote:
leejosepho wrote:
Sand wrote:
Once the scientists start producing artificial life ... and perhaps artificial universes ...

How long might it be until they eventually produce something actually real, and then how much of their own "intelligence" behind all of that will be accepted as evidence of "intelligence" behind what is/was already real even before they began?

Sand wrote:
... religion may accede that perhaps there was some alien scientist that set everything going ...

Really?! Cool. I have been saying that all along!

Are you claiming computers are not real?

Only to whatever extent you might first consider/call them "artificial".

But of course they are artificial, just as most religions are. None of them existed before humans appeared and created them.

Agreed ... and I find it interesting you have said "most" there.


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Sand
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11 Jun 2011, 7:46 am

leejosepho wrote:
Sand wrote:
leejosepho wrote:
Sand wrote:
leejosepho wrote:
Sand wrote:
Once the scientists start producing artificial life ... and perhaps artificial universes ...

How long might it be until they eventually produce something actually real, and then how much of their own "intelligence" behind all of that will be accepted as evidence of "intelligence" behind what is/was already real even before they began?

Sand wrote:
... religion may accede that perhaps there was some alien scientist that set everything going ...

Really?! Cool. I have been saying that all along!

Are you claiming computers are not real?

Only to whatever extent you might first consider/call them "artificial".

But of course they are artificial, just as most religions are. None of them existed before humans appeared and created them.

Agreed ... and I find it interesting you have said "most" there.


Glad you noticed. Before humans there were praying mantises and we must give them their due.



leejosepho
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11 Jun 2011, 7:52 am

Sand wrote:
Glad you noticed. Before humans there were praying mantises and we must give them their due.

Okay, you win this round ... :wink:


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Sand
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11 Jun 2011, 8:24 am

leejosepho wrote:
Sand wrote:
Glad you noticed. Before humans there were praying mantises and we must give them their due.

Okay, you win this round ... :wink:


Hey, I'm just looking around. No offense.