On 30 Dec 2005 at 0:07, jim guinee wrote: > Apologists for the ID argument will no doubt cite (among others) > Polkinghorne, theoretical physicist <snip> [says] >(The possibility of our existence) requires a balance between the > effects of expansion and contraction which at a very early epoch in the > universe's history (The Planck time) has to differ from equality by not more > than 1 in 1060 . The numerate (mathematical) will marvel at such a degree > of accuracy. For the non-numerate, I will borrow an illustration from Paul > Davies of what that accuracy means. He points out that it is the same as > aiming at a target an inch wide on the other side of the observable > universe, twenty thousand million light years away, and hitting the mark."
As one part in 1060 isn't such a big deal, being merely about 0.1%, and hardly cause for marvelling among either the numerate or non-numerate, I suspect there's something wrong with that particular quote. But the larger issue, unstated by Jim but presumably why he cites it, is that it supposedly shows that the universe is so staggeringly improbable that the only explanation for it can be that it was designed by a supernatural being, perhaps a flying spaghetti monster or some other deity more to Jim's liking. Of course, that's not a real explanation--it only has the appearance of one. Rashly venturing a little farther into cosmology and philosophy, I recall the theory that there may be an infinite number of universes each with a different setting of the Planck time (or whatever). If ours didn't have the right setting to allow our existence, we wouldn't be within it to observe it, would we? I don't think that one requires the assumption of a Big Guy to tune it our way for us. Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://faculty.frostburg.edu/psyc/southerly/tips/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
