Monkeys Will Never Type Out the Works of Shakespeare...

[Stephen3141]

'Infinite monkey theorem' challenged by Australian mathematicians

Australian researchers have poked holes in an old thought-experiment known as the "infinite monkey theorem".

www.bbc.com

Two Australian mathematicians have concluded that, given all the monkeys
on earth, randomly typing a letter a second, for the entire projected life
of the universe, there is basically no chance of any of them (or all of them
together) typing the writings of Shakespeare.

Actually, this is old stuff, that the Intelligent Design authors have been saying
for decades now. (But apparently, younger generations of scientists
don't read much of the great books of the older generations).

William Dembski, in his PhD dissertation for the University of Chicago
(The Design Inference), argues for the validy of an " Explanatory Filter" that
uses probability theory and randomness, and maximum resources, to conclude
that any string of letters that describes a meaningful concept (to human beings),
and that has a probability of being created randomly, with a probability of worse
than one chance in 10^500, and was not part of a known natural process, and was
not created by determinism, must have been created by intelligence.

Dembski sets up his thought experiment more intelligently than these 2 Australian
mathematicians. And Demski arrived at the conclusion that the human genome
could never have been generated through random processes, decades before these
2 mathematicians sorta stumbled in the same direction.

The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance... book by William A. Dembski

 

[Bob Crowley]

Even if a horde of monkeys did manage to type out the works of Shakespeare, it would take intelligent beings to interpret what had been typed.

To say nothing of making the paper, typrewriters, transporting them and setting them up, collating the results, checking the results, and organising a horde of monkeys to type out the works of Shakespeare in the first place.

If I had to stick to one point for intelligent design, I'd focus on enzymes.

The Central Role of Enzymes as Biological Catalysts - The Cell - NCBI Bookshelf

Although RNAs are capable of catalyzing some reactions, most biological reactions are catalyzed by proteins. In the absence of enzymatic catalysis, most biochemical reactions are so slow that they would not occur under the mild conditions of temperature and pressure that are compatible with life. Enzymes accelerate the rates of such reactions by well over a million-fold, so reactions that would take years in the absence of catalysis can occur in fractions of seconds if catalyzed by the appropriate enzyme. Cells contain thousands of different enzymes, and their activities determine which of the many possible chemical reactions actually take place within the cell.

No enzymes - no biological reactions.

1.17: Enzymes

bio.libretexts.org

Importance of Enzymes
Enzymes are involved in most of the biochemical reactions that take place in organisms. About 4,000 such reactions are known to be catalyzed by enzymes, but the number may be even higher. Enzymes allow reactions to occur at the rate necessary for life.

In animals, an important function of enzymes is to help digest food. Digestive enzymes speedup reactions that break down large molecules of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into smaller molecules the body can use. Without digestive enzymes, animals would not be able to break down food molecules quickly enough to provide the energy and nutrients they need to survive.

 

[Stephen3141]

Even if a horde of monkeys did manage to type out the works of Shakespeare, it would take intelligent beings to interpret what had been typed.

To say nothing of making the paper, typrewriters, transporting them and setting them up, collating the results, checking the results, and organising a horde of monkeys to type out the works of Shakespeare in the first place.

If I had to stick to one point for intelligent design, I'd focus on enzymes.

The Central Role of Enzymes as Biological Catalysts - The Cell - NCBI Bookshelf

No enzymes - no biological reactions.

1.17: Enzymes

bio.libretexts.org

(Addressing this thought experiment, is addressing something that
supporters of merely random methods producing complex specified
information, have put forward.

The monkeys on typewriters thought experiment failing is NOT an argument
that I would choose to support the idea of intelligent design of biological
life.)