A repeating alphabetic letter [bbbbbbb for example] or a repeating musical note or a group of objects which are all the same, do not convey information. A grouping of different alphabet letters (if they follow a language convention and actually display words), or non-corrupted computer code or different musical notes arranged in chords do have the capacity to convey information (in the case of music this will be a melodious tune). Obviously significant information is useful because it communicates a message.

Suppose you find a collection of 10 numbers. It could be a phone number, but if it does not apply to anyone you want to call, then the information value is low. For information we need low probability of character choices and specificity.  The actual sequence of numbers in the case above is of low probability (with a random number generator you would not obtain that specific number again), but if it does not match a specific need such as a specific person’s number, that sequence of numbers is useless.  The information that we find in the cell, for example in the DNA code, could not have arisen by random chance and still express specific instructions to fulfill a need such as how to build a particular protein for a molecular machine.

Information comes only from a mind. The irreducible complexity of the cell and the huge amounts of information found in every natural DNA sequence, all must come from an intelligent designer.

Related Resources

• Introduction to Intelligent Design, Part 1 (YouTube, 32 min)
• Introduction to Intelligent Design, Part 2 (YouTube, 33 min)