Plausible hypothesis

In his letter (C&EN, May 22, page 4) John L. Meisenheimer Sr. is skeptical that scientists would accept the theory of "intelligent design." Actually, scientific data and the theories posited to interpret them make the intelligent design hypothesis plausible.

In 1922, Russian mathematician Alexander Friedmann postulated an expanding universe, but it was strongly criticized by Albert Einstein, who posited a static universe. In 1927, Georges LemaÎtre, a Belgian physicist who was also a Catholic priest, proposed the explosion of a concentrated mass as the origin of the universe, unaware of Friedmann's prior hypothesis. This was derisively named the Big Bang theory by astronomer Fred Hoyle, who espoused the steady-state model.

If this was to be accepted as a viable theory, there would have to be supporting scientific evidence. Physicists George Gamow, Robert Herman, and Ralph Alpher maintained that the aftermath of this primeval explosion should give rise to radiation visible in the microwave range.

It was not until 1965 that Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson at Bell Labs identified this microwave radiation in their radio telescope and thus verified the plausibility of the Big Bang theory.

To ascribe the creation of an ordered universe from a primitive explosion to an intelligence is not an irrational conclusion.

George J. Beichl
Philadelphia, Pa.