<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16414" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3>Stathis Papaioannou
wrote:</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3>On 4/17/07, Brett Paatsch
<</FONT><A
href="http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat"><FONT
size=3>bpaatsch at bigpond.net.au</FONT></A><FONT size=3>> wrote:<BR><BR>>
></FONT><I><BR></I><FONT size=3>></FONT><FONT size=3><I> > At this
stage, we, science, don't know how for instance the first
cell<BR></I>></FONT><FONT size=3><I> > that </I></FONT><FONT
size=3><I>was the progenitor of all life on earth formed. Not exactly.
</I></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3><I>> > We don't
even </I></FONT><FONT size=3><I>know that much in principle
yet.<BR></I>></FONT><I><BR></I><FONT size=3>></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3>> Maybe, but unless it was a
miracle, science should be able to</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3>> reproduce
it.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT><FONT face=Arial>I was going to say there'd be a
Nobel prize in the acheivement but</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>its actually a much bigger deal than that. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>In Pasteur's time there was a doctrine, started
by his work, that</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>life only comes </FONT><FONT face=Arial>from </FONT><FONT
face=Arial>life. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The ghosts of Pasteur and Darwin would </FONT><FONT
face=Arial>probably stand up and </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>salute the </FONT><FONT face=Arial>scientist that
could demonstrate </FONT><FONT face=Arial>the creation of a
living</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>cell without </FONT><FONT face=Arial>using another living
cell.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Its important in science and technology to be honest about
what</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>one doesn't know. Without that honesty current
ignorance is not </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>remediable. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>On the other hand if all one is looking for is
to shore up belief</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>then lots of handwaving and pseudo-explanation will
attract </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>other believers to one and one can huddle together
with them</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>and feel just fine until reality runs over
you. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I don't believe in gods or miracles. I'm a
Bright. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I have a question for you </FONT><FONT
face=Arial>Stathis. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Why are you confident that science (ie. scientists)
should </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>be </FONT><FONT face=Arial>able to do </FONT><FONT
face=Arial>what nature did? Based on your "maybe"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>above, it seems you don't even know if I am telling
you</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>the truth or not - and if I was lying you probably could
have</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>found that out with a google search wouldn't you
think?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Are you a scientist, a truthseeker yourself, or do you
look to</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>scientists (other </FONT><FONT face=Arial>people) as a
sort </FONT><FONT face=Arial>of priest substitute to</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>reassure you that </FONT><FONT face=Arial>all is fine so
you don't have to worry ?</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>