Intelligent Design predictions

Over at Panda's Thumb, Jack Scanlan posted a comment showing an inconsistency in intelligent design arguments. In short, if ID proponents immunize their arguments against the criticism from bad design, they cannot predict anymore what intelligent design should look like.

I've found the solution:

Firstly, intelligent design involves intelligence and hence Trial & Error (Ashby 1960). Secondly, intelligent design involves design and hence Variation & Selection.

“Think of the design process as involving first the generation of alternatives and then the testing of these alternatives against a whole array of requirements and constraints.” (Simon 1981)

Consequently ID predicts that intelligent design should just look as though it was evolved. Therefore any evidence for evolution is in fact evidence for ID!

References

• Ashby WR (1960) Design for a brain, 2nd edition. Chapman and Hall.
• Simon HA (1981) The sciences of the artificial, 2nd edition, MIT Press.