Great mind fuck.
Why Earth's History Appears So Miraculous
21–30 of 61 posts
Re: Why Earth's History Appears So Miraculous
#22I didn't get through the whole thing, but if there are big meteor impacts, wouldn't we see them on other planets in the solar system? They mention Hale-Bop for instance. Surely we can work out a probability distribution from the evidence we have besides Earth.
The two largest impact craters we know of are on the Moon and Mars, and those happened about four billion years ago. Of course we'll never know for the gas giants. Not doing the math, but this makes the odds seem pretty low after the initial "flurry" of our solar system's birth, barring Jupiter perturbing an existing asteroid into a collision into earth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_craters_in_the...
Re: Why Earth's History Appears So Miraculous
#23Many worlds hypothesis is the atheistic solution to the observation that our universe appears to be tuned for life.
"This is rather as if you imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in — an interesting hole I find myself in — fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' " -- Douglas Adams
To be fair it's not the same thing at all - because the whole point of the article is that by all accounts we shouldn't fit into the hole we're in, we should have been wiped out of our hole long we even had a chance to evolve by comets, asteroids, ice ages, volcanic events or a multitude of other phenomena poised to end life as we know it. That's really what the article is about; sort of a 'humanity, it's improbable that you managed to evolve at all'
Re: Why Earth's History Appears So Miraculous
#24Many worlds hypothesis is the atheistic solution to the observation that our universe appears to be tuned for life.
Not so long ago, it was scientific dogma that all life on this planet was dependent upon photosynthesis. Then some oceanographer types sent some cameras down to the sea floor to look at some hydrothermal vents and... there went that idea! Is our universe tuned for life or is life tuned to its universe?
Shooter and Farmer.
http://peterbutler.me/the-shooter-and-the-farmer/
When the members of the Frontiers of Science discussed physics, they often used the abbreviation “SF.” They didn’t mean “science fiction,” but the two words “shooter” and “farmer.” This was a reference to two hypotheses, both involving the fundamental nature of the laws of the universe.
In the shooter hypothesis, a good marksman shoots at a target, creating a hole every ten centimeters. Now suppose the surface of the target is inhabited by intelligent, two-dimensional creatures. Their scientists, after observing the universe, discover a great law: “There exists a hole in the universe every ten centimeters.” They have mistaken the result of the marksman’s momentary whim for an unalterable law of the universe.
The farmer hypothesis, on the other hand, has the flavor of a horror story: Every morning on a turkey farm, the farmer comes to feed the turkeys. A scientist turkey, having observed this pattern to hold without change for almost a year, makes the following discovery: “Every morning at eleven, food arrives.” On the morning of Thanksgiving, the scientist announces this law to the other turkeys. But that morning at eleven, food doesn’t arrive; instead, the farmer comes and kills the entire flock.
Re: Why Earth's History Appears So Miraculous
#25Many worlds hypothesis is the atheistic solution to the observation that our universe appears to be tuned for life.
Sure, that's the motivation some atheists have in believing or at least entertaining the idea of a multiverse, but ultimately, it does relatively little to advance atheism, and not just because of its intractability. Fine tuning is an interesting thing to ponder, and certainly a single universe that is finely tuned could lend some support to divine intent, but the real arguments for the existence of God do not hinge…
Thanks for the reply. Feser's looks interesting - going to check it out.
Re: Why Earth's History Appears So Miraculous
#26That's the stuff of nightmares right there.
Re: Why Earth's History Appears So Miraculous
#27That's the stuff of nightmares right there.
Kinda bums me out that with data on so many galaxies, we see absolutely zero evidence so far for any galaxy wide effects from intelligent life. It seems likely that intelligent life arising in a single galaxy is rare, and that it's almost certain we are the only intelligent species in our own.
Re: Why Earth's History Appears So Miraculous
#28What a great trippy article... most pop-sci articles are not worth reading, but this one really held my attention the whole time. Even though I have heard of a lot of these ideas before, I never heard them put together in this way, like your consciousness is a thread in the multiverse constantly avoiding destruction! I always thought if the multiworlds thing was true, it would be like each person living their lives unaware of the others... but maybe not. Pretty weird to think about and probably we will never know... All though if I end up living to 1000+ years old, maybe I will become convinced.
Re: Why Earth's History Appears So Miraculous
#29Kind of ironic to think that humans survived a million-year ice age, then might be destroyed by some fool with a button. If 'our universe' is 'tuned for life', it certainly isn't specifically tuned for human life (e.g. plague, volcanos). Nature offers us no guarantees. Unless we stay in tune with that accord, we will be removed.
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Re: Why Earth's History Appears So Miraculous
#30Many worlds hypothesis is the atheistic solution to the observation that our universe appears to be tuned for life.
Yeah, although I wouldn't say that has much bearing on whether or not it's true.
I think everyone is tempted to accept theories that justify the world view he/she hopes is true.