William Dembski's "Design Inference"
From: Rabi Gupta <rabigupta@mailexcite.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 22:04:29 -0800
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There's a book that might interest you. Cambridge University Press has just
published William Dembski's »The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance
through Small Probabilities«. This book was ostensibly written to challenge
Darwinian evolutionary theory. But it also provides a mathematical
foundation for the types of statistical inferences parapsychologists use to
identify paranormal phenomena. In particular, the book shows how to deal
with statistical experiments whose p-values are extremely small (like those
that regularly come up in parapsychology experiments).
The response of the skeptical community has been interesting to watch. They
are mainly concerned about what the book will do in the creation-evolution
controversy (see http://www.junkscience.com/oct98/rudin.htm). But as you
know, the same skeptics who regularly bash creationism (like Martin Gardner,
Michael Shermer, Paul Kurtz, Stephen Jay Gould, James Randi, and the late
Carl Sagan) are also those who regularly bash the paranormal. These skeptics
seem worried about »The Design Inference« (cf. the ongoing discussion on the
usenet group talk.origins as well as the reviews at www.amazon.com). A
useful synopsis of Dembski's book can be found at
http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9810/dembski.html.
»The Design Inference« promises to put paranormal phenomena on a solid
scientific footing. This book should have ramifications far beyond the
creation-evolution controversy.
--Rabi Gupta
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RELEVANCE OF THIS MESSAGE: Paranormal personalities
Index: William Dembski (#4)
Created: Nov 21, 1998
