Cambrian Explosion: afterthought (Introduction)
DAVID: But you have just defined where we differ: Of course cells USE information they receive, but they use it following intelligent instructions already embedded in the genome. I know where we differ: I am suggesting that cells are intelligent, and you are insisting that they are not intelligent, because they are automata preprogrammed by your God. I have explained what I mean by "intelligent": namely, with the ability to gather, process and exchange information, communicate and cooperate with other organisms, take decisions, solve problems. That is my definition of intelligence, which does not require self-awareness, which may be applied to animals including ourselves, and which some scientists also apply to other organisms, including insects and cells/cell communities. Firstly, do you or do you not agree that cells/cell communities have these abilities? Secondly, please give me your own definition of intelligence.