Cognitive Bias Studies

Research demonstrates that people remember the challenges they face more than the benefits they enjoy. This “headwinds/tailwinds asymmetry” helps explain why both political parties see the electoral college as favoring the other party, why most people see their favorite team as having the most difficult schedule, and why children routinely characterize parents as favoring other siblings. Unfortunately, this asymmetry contributes to a darker side of human behavior in that people who perceive greater challenges and obstacles are more inclined to endorse morally questionable behavior. The Bible helps prevent this asymmetry and provides a prescription to encourage moral behavior. 

Fine-Tuned DNA Structure

Every detail about the structure of DNA is precisely as it must be for life to be possible, reflecting a type of molecular fine-tuning. This fine-tuning comes into focus when biochemists ask “why” questions, such as: Why is DNA made up of the four nucleobases, (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) and not some other set of nucleobases? A chemist from Trinity University Dublin provided insight into this question by demonstrating that the set of nucleobases in DNA uniquely minimizes the harmful impact of a phenomenon called tautomerism, revealing a rationale for the composition of this important biomolecule. This insight raises additional questions: How should we account for the ingenuity and fine-tuning of DNA’s structure? Is it the outworking of a historically contingent evolutionary process, or do these features point to a Creator’s handiwork?