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From: bill@utastro.UUCP (William H. Jefferys)
Newsgroups: net.origins
Subject: Re: creationism topics
Message-ID: <626@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 9-Oct-84 12:22:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.626
Posted: Tue Oct  9 12:22:00 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 12-Oct-84 04:41:10 EDT
References: <27700004@uicsl.UUCP>
Organization: UTexas Astronomy Dept., Austin, Texas
Lines: 29

> By the way, I am quite sure that Hoyle
> does not claim life originated on another planet, but that crucial compounds
> developed on comets where the environment is somehow more suitable.
> Could it be that A. Ray has not actually read his book even though he
> continually accuses others of not reading creationists literature?
> (For the record I have not read the book myself and could be mistaken also)

The 1982 edition of *Annual Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysics* contains
an article by Hoyle that discusses his main ideas.  So one doesn't have
to read the book.  He says that interstellar dust grains have light absorption
curves similar to those of bacteria, and appears to believe that life
got started in space.  He uses his 10e-40000 probability figure evidence
in favor of his now discredited Steady State theory, since in an infinitely
old universe there is time enough for any event of nonzero probability,
no matter how small, to occur.

He doesn't give many details on his 10e-40000 odds, but he gives enough
to determine that it is as invalid as the similar calculations that have been
bandied about on the net.  Basically it comes about from assuming that a
probability of 10e-20 for getting 20 amino acids in sequence has to be
done independently for 2000 different proteins.  Everyone reading this
newsgroup should know by now why this won't wash.
-- 
"Biblical signoffs are for the smug."

	Bill Jefferys  8-%
	Astronomy Dept, University of Texas, Austin TX 78712   (USnail)
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