Sending out an S.O.S.

I've been reading 'The Information' by James Gleick, and I want to make a few comments on a particular passage. (Fascinating book by the way.)

Quotes and comments;

1. 'His colleague Sidney Dancoff suggested to him in 1950 that a chromosomal thread is “a linear coded tape of information;
"The entire thread constitutes a “message.” This message can be broken down into sub-units which may be called “paragraphs,” “words,” etc. [1.]

- There are no messages in inert matter. Where do messages come from then? How do you go from no messages to messages? Matter doesn't need messages; nor is it capable of producing them. Even granting it could produce them, why would it produce something it didn't need. Matter has no needs; no desires, no thoughts and no needs.

2. Message;
- c.1300, "communication transmitted via a messenger," from O.Fr. message, from M.L. missaticum, from L. missus, pp. of mittere "to send" (see mission). The Latin word is glossed in O.E. by ærende. Specific religious sense of "divinely inspired communication via a prophet" (1540s) led to transferred sense of "the broad meaning (of something)," first attested 1828. As a verb, "to send messages," attested from 1580s. To get the message "understand" is from 1964.

- What message could matter possibly 'want' to send? how could it have any message. Only living organisms have a need or desire to send a message. Among animals messages are mainly concerned with matters of life and death (and are instinctual). You only desire to send a message if you care about something; i.e. if you care about being alive. Since matter isn't alive it doesn't care about anything, and therefore has no message to send. Matter has no messages, and is incapable of formulating any, or sending any. Matter cannot be the source of messages in the universe.

3. Message;
a. A usually short communication transmitted by words, signals, or other means from one person, station, or group to another.
- Matter doesn't send messages because it has nothing to say; it has nothing to say because it has no personality. Impersonal entities don't send messages. Messages are evidence of personality.

b. The substance of such a communication; the point or points conveyed: gestured to a waiter, who got the message and brought the bill.
- matter doesn't communicate because it has nothing to say; it just is... and that being the case it is silent... or less than silent. It can only dream about being silent :=}
- all true communication is in code. All code must have an author.

c. 'A communication transmitted; a notice sent; information or opinion or advice communicated through a messenger or other agency: as, a verbal or written message; a telegraphic message.

- A message informs, it transfers knowledge. Only living organisms need knowledge. Matter doesn't need knowledge; isn't capable of it, and doesn't even know what it is. Matter doesn't get hungry, and doesn't get lonely. It doesn't need to send out an S.O.S.

The idea that one day the answer will be found is an expression of faith. (It obviously won't be found if it doesn't exist.) One wonders how long the search will go on. (As long as gov. funding holds out I guess.) Evolutionists are spending a lot of money trying to defend their materialist worldview; to at least make it somewhat plausible.

d. 'Any concept or information conveyed by the use of (usually written) symbols. - Wiki

- Mere matter knows nothing of symbols. Only human beings make conscious use of symbols. Symbols require intelligence, personality and necessity. The symbol use we see in DNA could not have had a source in inert matter. It's impossible. Even if it were capable of such a thing, why would matter use symbols? does it have something to hide? something 'ineffable' to express? does it have some message it needs to encode for transmission?

5. Symbol;
- the meaning "something which stands for something else" first recorded 1590 (in "Faerie Queene").
- What could matter stand for (other than itself)? Matter is what it is what it is. If all is matter, what else is there anyway? There are no symbols in a universe of mere matter. Not one.

a. 'Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.

b. 'Any character used to represent a quantity, an operation, a relation, or an abbreviation.
- the symbols used in DNA represent an operation i.e. the instructions that go into producing a protein. (In the realm of mere matter there are no symbols and no instructions. You only have instructions where you have a goal. As far as we know, the only source of goals are intelligent agents.)

The materialist must explain how you can have symbols before intelligence; symbols before persons.

The only way materialists can escape the dilemna posed by information is to equate information with its physical medium. This becomes the claim information is the same as brain cells, or ink on paper, or the same as hard drive it's configured onto. I see this as a ruse that attempts to escape the problem. To a strict materialist information cannot exist (ie. apart from its physical embodiment.) That information exists, is evidence to me that materialism is false.

Summary;
All the materialist can say to this is; ''well; it happened... so there. One day we'll know how this cosmic accident occurred but for now we must keep searching." If that satisfies some people (and apparently it does) what can I say. It doesn't satisfy me. I see the undirected 'emergence of 'life' from inert matter as inherently impossible. In my opinion (limited as it is) it's a desire to believe there is no creator god that prompts people to accept the m. view. If it wasn't for a desire m. be true, I don't think anyone would find the chance production of life forms a believable idea.

The space craft NASA (and Carl Sagan helped design) sent out into the universe to tell the whereabouts of human kind, can be seen as an S.O.S. sent out by materialists... seeking confirmation of their worldview. i.e. send us a message telling us we're right. Please.

We'll go out on a musical note; 'Message in a bottle' - The Police

Notes;
1. The Information - James Gleick/280
- I especially enjoyed the chapter on Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace. A whole book could be written on their unusual partnership.
2. Title refers to a song by Police [''Message in a bottle'']