Specified Complexity
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Introduction (?)
The term Specified Complexity comes from Leslie Orgel, who employed it to describe the difference between living and non-living systems.[1]
Specified Complexity as developed by William Dembski is a dual-pronged criterion for objectively detecting the effects of certain types of intelligent activity without first hand evidence of the cause of the event in question.[2] It consists of two important components, both of which are essential for inferring design reliably. The first component is the criterion of complexity or improbability. The second is the criterion of specificity, which is an independently given, detachable pattern. For more discussion, see Defining Specified Complexity.
Type (?)
Level (?)
ALL (Undergraduate, Graduate, Doctorate, Postdoctorate)
Definition (?)
The equation for calculating Specified Complexity is: ![\tilde\chi= -log_2[M \cdot N \cdot \phi_s(T) \cdot P(T|H)]](/images/math/d/e/0/de0074d0dfd698008df4596cd9e2d6a8.png)
. (Given by Dembski (2005) on page 21 of Specifications)
Objectives (?)
- Master the conceptual foundations of Specified Complexity.
- Develop empirical experiments using the scientific method to test the concept.
- Determine the amount of complex specified information in various biological structures.
- Define the relationships between evolutionary mechanisms and specified complexity.
- Determine whether possible mechanisms for generating specified complexity, other than intelligence, exist.
Questions (?)
- What does this design detection method tell us about the importance of probability in inferring design?
- Could Specified Complexity be improved or made more effecient?
- How could Specified Complexity be applied in other fields?
- Is complex specified information (CSI) a reliable criterion for design?
- What is the CSI content of various biological structures?
- Are there any structures generated without intelligence that exhibit specified complexity?
Keywords (?)
Specified Complexity, Complex Specified Information, information content, design detection, specification, evolvability, natural forces, natural laws, chance, randomness, inferring design
Monographs (?)
- The Design Inference, William Dembski, 1998, ISBN 0521678676
- No Free Lunch, William Dembski, 2001, ISBN 0742512975
- The Design Revolution, William Dembski, 2004, ISBN 0830823751
eResources (?)
- ISCID Encyclopedia Article. Entry for Specified Complexity in the ISCID Encyclopedia of Science and Philosophy.
- Intelligent Design as a Theory of Information. A paper on Specified Complexity by William Dembski, hosted on ARN.org.
- Detecting Design?. Email submission of William Dembski to Metanexus.net.
- Specification: The Pattern that Signifies Intelligence (part of the series Mathematical Foundations of Intelligent Design by William Dembski)
Criticism (?)
- Dissecting Dembski's "Complex Specified Information"
- From Complexity to Life: On the Emergence of Life and Meaning
- How to Evolve Specified Complexity by Natural Means - [Dembski's response] - [Young's counter-response].
- Information Theory, Evolutionary Computation, and Dembski's Complex Specified Information
- Evolution & Design Cornell 2006 Discussion
- Specified complexity, impossibly long threads, and LaTeX, Cornell 2006
- Specified Complexity A project of BioEE 467, Evolution & Design Cornell, ongoing
Status (?)
Current
Dr. William Dembski / ISCID
Extend (?)
- Are there means of logically concluding that a process was the result of design combined with chance and/or necessity?
- Are there other means of logically eliminating chance and natural causes in order to infer intelligent activity?
Related (?)
William Dembski, Information Theory, Probability, Category:Probability, Defining Specified Complexity
References and notes
- ↑ Leslie Orgel (1973) The Origins of Life. New York: John Wiley & Sons, p. 189.
- ↑ From http://www.iscid.org/encyclopedia/Specified_Complexity.
