Calilasseia, on Getting an Education

In the comment section of my post (((Sigh)))Disappointing, Gorth attempted to enlighten me by cutting and pasting some comments by Calilasseia. It makes me sigh some more but the comments themselves require a reply. Calilasseia's comments are in quotations.

“Information is NOT a magic entity. It doesn't require magic to produce it.”

Calilasseia is correct of course. It does not require magic to produce the form of information that he is speaking of at this point. In fact, Calilasseia seems to be hoping that you think information is information is information. As an example, what's being suggested by Calilasseia, is that the sense of wind speed you get as you feel the wind on your face is information that's equal to the instructions the nurse uses to program the computer that controls your premature baby's respirator.

That may fly in atheist world, but in the real world specified or formulated information DOES require an Intelligent Agent to produce it, process it, translate it, actualise it, program it etc.. Give me an example where specified, formulated information does not require and Intelligent Agent for its presence and I'll quit posting about it.
================

“All that happens, in real world physical systems, is that different system states lead to different outcomes when the interactions within the system take place.”

Systems built by Intelligent Agents.
===================

“But this is precisely what we have with DNA”

Calilasseia has used a really good example in A Turing machine.
. For what is a Turing machine if not a theoretical device constructed by an Intelligent Agent?

. What but an Intelligent Agent assembles, constructs and / or uses logic?

. What but an Intelligent Agent constructs algorithms?

. What but Intelligent Agents construct thought experiments?
==========

“indeed, the DNA molecule plays a passive role in this: its function is simply to store the sequence of states that will result, ultimately, in the synthesis of a given protein.”

What but Intelligent Agents build storage systems for information? Are information storage systems built by Intelligent agents any less critical or impressive for being storage systems?
=============

“The real hard work is actually performed by the ribosomes,”

Yes, let's talk about the hard work, shall we? The ribozyme will not produce a single molecule with a functional specificity, or capacity to perform coordinate reactions, equivalent to that of the synthetases used in cells, yet without this specifificity and capacity to coordinate reactions, the construction of a sequence-specific arrangement of amino acids from the specific RNA transcript will not occur. In fact, RNA molecules possess very few of the specific enzymatic properties of proteins. They perform only a small handful of the thousands of functions performed by proteins.

I won't call Calilasseia a liar but one has to wonder why such a ridiculous statement would be made. The fact that Calilasseia is an atheist ideologue would be a safer bet.
---------------

“which take that state data and use it to bolt together amino acids into chains to form proteins,”

The whole question is, Where did the data come from?
--------------------

“whose job is to perform, mechanically and mindlessly in accordance with the electrostatic and chemical interactions permitting this, the construction of a protein using the information arising from DNA as the template.” (bold mine)

Again, the question is, Where did the information found in the DNA template come from? The information in the DNA did not form without the aid of a protein and the first protein did not form without the information in the DNA template.

As well, so what if it performs mindlessly. So does a computer but a computer does not perform at all without the information first put in by an Intelligent Agent.
------------------

“Anyone who thinks magic is needed in all of this, once again, is in need of an education.”

Anyone who thinks that specified, formulated information arises by mutation (of what?) before the DNA instructions are in place is in need of an education.
---------------

“the following sequence of hexadecimal bytes in a computer's memory:”

Who put it there in the first place you ignoramus?
--------------

“Indeed, it is entirely possible to regard ascribed meaning as nothing other than the particular interactions driven by the underlying data, once that data is being processed,”

Yes, and the data and the processor came from and were built by? An intelligent Agent.
----------------

“are in accord with observational reality to fifteen decimal places.”

Isn’t that cute? An atheist appeals to the magic of large numbers.
----------------

"What scientists actually postulate, and they postulate this with respect to every observable phenomenon in the universe, is that well defined and testable mechanisms are responsible." (bold mine)

Oh really?
. Observable and testable mechanisms bring something from nothing by no natural cause whatsoever?

. Observable and testable mechanisms bring forth life from inanimate and inorganic gases?

And both of these events which happened once and only once were observable?

I think Calilasseia used the term bullshit at one point. It can be used again right here.
-----------------

“Scroll down to "Induced mutations on the molecular level can be caused by:"

Let me finish, Intelligent Agents working towards a predetermined goal, something, I might add that does not exist in natural selection and most certainly did not exist prior to the fist living cell.
---------------------

“scientists have classified a number of well defined chemical reactions leading to mutations,”

I believe it was Daniel Dennett who said that there is only “1 helpful mutation in every 500 TRILLION copyings.” Yes, I know. It took a long time.
==============

"you believe nothing created the universe"

That’s not quite accurate. It’s, “Nothing natural created the universe” since at the time of the singularity, nothing natural existed, at least according to science.
==============

“scientists postulate that well defined and testable natural mechanisms, operating upon the appropriate entities,”

I do wish he would tell us WHAT these entities were (no Matter existed) and WHERE they were at the singularity (no Space existed), or is he expecting us to know which atheist origin of the universe mythology is being used as a canard in this instance?