Signs of Design?

The theists get it wrong when they say we can spot design in the world the same way that we spot design when we find a watch in the woods. This is a bit strange. We spot a watch in the woods precisely because it stands out against the natural background. If all was designed, the watch ought to blend in. Here's another quote from George H. Smith's Atheism: The Case Against God:

The inferential process represented in the design argument is the reverse of what actually occurs. We conclude that a watch is the result of design, not because we see "that its several parts are framed and put together for a purpose," but because we know by direct experience that watches are made by men. We do not, as [William] Paley insists, infer that a watch is made-made because we perceive design in it; rather we infer that a watch is designed because we know it is man-made....

...In order to conclude that an object was designed, we must first establish that it was manufactured. Therefore, in order to conclude that the natural universe was designed, we must first establish that it as manufactured by an intelligent being....

...One must first know that a god exists before one cay say that nature exhibits design. And this renders the design argument useless for proving the existence of a god. [Emphasis in the original.]

Finally Smith writes:

Now consider the idea that nature itself is the product of design. How could this be demonstrated? Nature, as we have seen, provides the basis of comparison by which we distinguish between designed objects and natural objects. We are able to infer the presence of design only to the extent that the characteristics of an object differ from natural characteristics. Therefore, to claim that nature as a whole was designed is to destroy the basis by which we differentiate between artifacts and natural objects. Evidence of design are those characteristics not found in nature, so it is impossible to produce evidence of design within the context of nature itself. [Emphasis in the original.]