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Quote by William A. Dembski

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The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance through Small Probabilities

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Author

William A. Dembski
William A. Dembski

William A. Dembski, born on July 18, 1960, is a renowned mathematician known for his research in information theory, complexity, and intelligent design theory. more

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“What is deadly is not the much-discussed atomic bomb as this particular death-dealing machine. What has long since been threatening man with death, and indeed with the death of his own nature, is the unconditional character of mere willing in the sense of purposeful self-assertion in everything. What threatens man in his very nature is the willed view that man, by the peaceful release, transformation, storage, and channeling of the energies of physical nature, could render the human condition, man's being, tolerable for everybody and happy in all respects. But the peace of this peacefulness is merely the undisturbed continuing relentlessness of the fury of self-assertion which is resolutely self-reliant. What threatens man in his very nature is the view that this imposition of production can be ventured without any danger, as long as other interests besides—such as, perhaps, the interests of a faith—retain their currency. As though it were still possible for that essential relation to the whole of beings in which man is placed by the technological exercise of his will to find a separate abode in some side-structure which would offer more than a temporary escape into those selfdeceptions among which we must count also the flight to the Greek gods! What threatens man in his very nature is the view that technological production puts the world in order, while in fact this ordering is precisely what levels every ordo, every rank, down to the uniformity of production, and thus from the outset destroys the realm from which any rank and recognition could possibly arise.”

“If any of my kids ever asked me that question, the answer would have to be: "What I do is composition." I just happen to use material other than notes for the pieces. Composition is a process of organization, very much like architecture. As long as you can conceptualize what that organizational process is, you can be a ‘composer’ — in any medium you want. You can be a ‘video composer’, ‘film composer’, a ‘choreography composer’, a ‘social engineering’ composer — whatever. Just give me some stuff, and I'll organize it for you. That's what I do.”

“How we re-form our lives after tremendous disruption determines our future. Individually, it affects our families and our closest loved ones. And collectively? It can change the trajectory of humanity.”

“The truly unexpected response to the first edition of the book gave me the courage to expand the lessons to include more about the art of recovery from disruption, to explore more deeply things like how we can develop the assets that truly sustain us through life's inevitable suffering and heartache, what lends us resilience when we face hard times, and what allows us to renew ourselves after a setback so we can keep moving forward as we forge the life we want - even if it doesn't look the way we once thought it would.”