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From: alan@allegra.UUCP (Alan S. Driscoll)
Newsgroups: net.religion,net.origins
Subject: Re: If You've Got the Time...
Message-ID: <2621@allegra.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Jul-84 14:10:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: allegra.2621
Posted: Fri Jul 20 14:10:46 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Jul-84 04:01:12 EDT
References: <896@akgua.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 22

> If the Rationalist Materialist explanation of the origins
> of life on Earth are correct then we sprang from the chance
> combination of elements into amino acids and the chance
> union of amino acids into proteins.  The argumentation that is
> usually advanced is that over the long eons of time the various
> combinations were "tried" by nature until the right ones matched
> up.  The question on the floor today is "Was there enough time
> for this process to take place and thus validate the explanation ?"

What you attempt to calculate in your article is the probability
of *life as we know it* resulting from random combinations of the
elements.  What if there are many "right" combinations, that is,
many combinations which could lead to intelligent life?  In that
case, your calculations wouldn't be meaningful.  Whichever form
of intelligent life resulted could sit around wondering why the
"right" combination occured.

-- 

	Alan S. Driscoll
	AT&T Bell Laboratories