Re: OT: Many Worlds Probability Problem

On 24 Jan 2006 14:53:18 -0800, "rev.goetz" <jimgoetz316@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

>
>Mark Isaak wrote:
>> On 23 Jan 2006 21:58:26 -0800, "rev.goetz" <jimgoetz316@xxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >[...] Various values of
>> >physical constants could make DNA-based life impossible, but I do not
>> >believe that any set of values for physical constants would make
>> >DNA-based life inevitable.
>>
>> What does DNA have to do with anything? If you are investigating the
>> origins of a universe like ours, you might as well ask about the odds
>> that the universe will include a periodical titled "The Astrophysical
>> Journal," and that a couple of humans named Collins and Hawking will
>> publish in it. That, after all, is the endpoint relevant to the
>> Collins and Hawking paper.
>>
>> It makes more sense to ask about values of physical constants that
>> could make *any* kind of consciousness possible. Physicists avoid
>> this question because it is impossible to answer. But by avoiding it,
>> they are metaphorically looking for their car keys where the light is
>> good, not where they lost them.
>
>Yes, yes. If I had any idea how to evaluate this, I would do it. Our
>best shot it is if nonDNA-based extraterrestrial life would visit us,
>and then of course submit some tissue samples.

No, the problem is much harder than that. If the fine structure
constant were a hundred times larger, that would rule out not just
DNA-based life, but also stars and planets, chemistry, and physics as
we know them. But would it rule out life? Might there be, in such a
universe, some kind of life form that we cannot begin to understand?
Maybe. I don't know any way to rule out the possibility.

--
Mark Isaak eciton (at) earthlink (dot) net
"Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of
the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are
being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and
exposing the country to danger." -- Hermann Goering

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: Many Worlds Probability Problem
    ... >>Mark Isaak wrote: ... >>> origins of a universe like ours, you might as well ask about the odds ... >>best shot it is if nonDNA-based extraterrestrial life would visit us, ... > DNA-based life, but also stars and planets, chemistry, and physics as ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Universes...ad infinitum
    ... it is that there is any universe that is fit for life to develop in. ... First if there are multiple universes with different physical constants or laws, then we have to insist on nothing more. ... Naturally, in any universe in which evolution can get a foothold, the life that evolves will match up very well to the parameters of that environment. ... Assuming multiple universes (with different physics) gets us around "explaining" the fact that the universe we live in has the right kind of physics for some kind of life to evolve in. ...
    (uk.philosophy.atheism)
  • Re: Universes...ad infinitum
    ... physical constants is to solve the metaphysical problem of how fortunate ... it is that there is any universe that is fit for life to develop in. ... Naturally, in any universe in which evolution can ... Assuming multiple universes (with different physics) gets us around ...
    (uk.philosophy.atheism)
  • Re: The Reasonable Minority
    ... meaning or progress of any detectable sort. ... origin would have precluded the universe from sustaining our life ... and if those constants were different then life would not ... tuning of physical constants and energy mass effects. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Alien Life
    ... > concept that states fundamentally that the Universe is the ... The anthropic principle ... > to believe if there are other life forms in the universe ... are the values of the physical constants which define our ...
    (sci.bio.evolution)
Loading