You “skeptics” and “scientists” are all alike! Surely, if PWCBN had said such a thing, some “evidence” would exist in the thread fossil record. But when the “evidence” fails to turn up, you simply choose to “believe” what your “memory” tells you.
Proof that you are just a religious as anybody.
He Who Cannot Be Named is before my time, but in my backwards browsing I’ve come across some very singular posts by a certain person–he, as ever, doesn’t really use sense–whom I imagine to be the one referred to.
N’est-ce pas?
**lissener wrote:
He Who Cannot Be Named is before my time, but in my backwards browsing I’ve come across some very singular posts by a certain person–he, as ever, doesn’t really use sense–whom I imagine to be the one referred to.**
Robert Persig? Didn’t he write a couple great/crazy books!
Well I remember a very long thread which started with a man, a book and a refutation of Darwin.
Unfortunately I have (genuinely) forgotten his name.
But you chaps can see when I joined SDMB, so there’s a limit how far back you have to look.
Does anyone remember Guy Stuff?
That was much more enjoyable! 
Satan, he did indeed begin with a book purchased at Stonehenge.
I know this for a fact.
I just found the entire thread, archived on my hard drive.
No, I will not post any of it.
Ever.
My eyes have melted.
Given that the purpose of this board is to fight ignorance, and understanding that others have the subjects of natural selection, evolution, and biochemistry covered quite nicely, I will address mathematics.
Put 'em up.
To calculate a probability it is necessary to either be in control of or to be able to accurately describe the field of all possible outcomes. Neither is the case with abiogenesis.
(ex: what are the odds that I will have chicken for dinner tonight? Is it accurate to simply add up the number of different foods in my refrigerator and place that number over 1?)
To calculate a probability for any natural abiogenesis to occur it is neccessary to fully enumerate all possible paths to life. This is beyond our capacity at present, and will quite possibly always be beyond our capacity.
(ex: I say hello to you in your living room. You point immediately to your front door, which has 17,458,321,677,976,324,787,688,354,546 deadbolts in place and conclude that I could not have walked in. I ask if you have a back door.)
There is no “largest number ever”. There never will be. If you like books I suggest searching any decent source on the words “Cantor” and “infinite”.
(ex: Oh yeah! Well I have infinity plus one reasons why life could never have evolved!)
Oooops.
I’ve been away too long, my reflexes are off. I got to the end of page 1 and hit “reply”. Please excuse the non-sequitor.
None of us have been sequiting for a while, anyway.
Tris