[Dialogue] The Grand Design

[jlepps at pc.jaring.my]

Some thoughts you might enjoy:


Reflections on "The Grand Design[1]"

May 2012

Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinov have undertaken to challenge the 
"Intelligent Design" theory of creation with the latest science from 
Quantum Physics and the M-Theory. In my opinion, they deserve each 
other. One says an intelligent being created and runs the cosmos. The 
other says no such being is necessary to account for reality as we 
know it scientifically.

Neither "side" seems aware of the distinction between faith 
statements as expressive vs. faith statements as explanatory. The 
former occurs in rituals, creeds, worship, and hymns and is primarily 
intended to express one's interior posture of affirmation. They are 
poetic and not intended to be taken as literal. The latter can be 
found in theological formulations that attempt to provide a rational 
understanding of that posture. Theological formulations are intended 
to be taken literally and tend to provide a viable model of reality 
("model-dependent realism" is the mode of Hawking and Mlodinov) which 
is compatible with contemporary scientific understanding.

The Intelligent design movement misses this distinction and tends to 
take expressive statements as literal, sometimes even missing the 
deep truth they express. The scientists also miss the distinction and 
wind up creating a straw man which they demolish with considerable 
relish and humor.

The book, however, is a useful history of scientific achievement, and 
filled with informative and entertaining graphics. When compared with 
the works of Brian Greene[2], the book seems a bit simplistic; still 
it's a useful introduction to the present state of physics.

Particularly interesting is its perspective of "model-dependent 
realism." Instead of attempting to establish the external reality of 
anything outside of the viewer, it says that what we perceive is 
shaped by the brain which uses a model to coordinate and make sense 
of our perceptions. Whether or not the model accords with some 
external reality is beyond the possibility of establishing. Instead 
one establishes the usefulness of the model in accounting for 
experience. There are four criteria a model must meet to be regarded 
as accurate: 1) elegance; 2) contains few arbitrary or adjustable 
elements;  3) agrees with and explains all existing observations; and 
4) makes detailed predictions about future observations that can 
disprove or falsify the model if they are not borne out (p.51). 
Unfortunately the book does not show how intelligent design fails to 
meet those same criteria for validity. Still, the authors insist that 
no God hypothesis is required to account for all we observe, 
including creation ex nihilo (which, though we do not observe it, 
seems to be the way things got started).

It may be that the book is most useful if the reader dispenses with 
the theological issues the authors purport to raise. It is indeed a 
useful capsule of string theory and M-theory along with quantum 
physics, and provides a useful look into a model of reality that may 
hold possibility for the future. Maybe the theology was just a 
gimmick to attract readers to a subject that is covered more 
adequately elsewhere, and is essentially uninteresting to most. It 
seems to have succeeded as a marketing effort since the book is 
currently on the NY Times best seller list at #18 of 20.


[1] Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, The Grand Design (New York: 
Bantam Books, 2012)
[2] See his The Elegant Universe (New York: Vintage Books, 2000), The 
Fabric of the Cosmos (New York: Vintage Books, 2004), The Hidden 
Reality (New York: Penguin, 2011). He also has fascinating 
presentations on TV, the Discovery Channel.

Your responses are more welcome.

John
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