Nothing like a violent metaphor to catch attention…. I don't smoke, but somehow “I” didn't look right in front of a firing squad without a cigarette dangling from my lips. Again, when it comes to the anthropic coincidences, it's not the explanation of each individual one that's so puzzling; doubtless science will give us reasons for each; it's the additional fact that all these different coincidences–not seemingly related–result in a universe which can develop intelligent life….when it could have so easily NOT have. This CLUSTER of coincidences–like the fifty separate guns aimed by the firing squad–cries out for its own explanation. In the above scenario, I definitely would have been looking for bribing of the marksmen, or tampering with their rifles. I think most people would. Most people would NOT think it reasonable to say, “Of COURSE they misfired. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here to wonder about it.” Yet some people say EXACTLY that about the anthropic coincidences. Nevertheless the choice in the anthropic coincidences is NOT just between blind chance and deliberate design. There are other possibilities. We'll start on the possible explanations… next time.
Interesting stuff! Well, I've seen various scientists and philosophers appeal to 'Multiverse' theories to explain the Anthropic Principle. If you have a large number of universes (infinite?), the odds that at least one of them would develop intelligent life goes up. In fact, if there's an infinite number of universes, intelligent life could be inevitable. Personally, I think there's something disingenuous in telling people they can't appeal to an entity that we can't detect directly (God) as an explanatory tool, and then appeal to other universes (which we also can't detect directly, and may, in principle, never be able to)
alschroeder at 5:54AM, May 26, 2014
Thanks!
KimLuster at 5:42AM, May 25, 2014
And I just back-read all this - Love it! (wish I'd been there from the beginning...). Looking forward to see where you go with this!
KimLuster at 4:40AM, May 25, 2014
Interesting stuff! Well, I've seen various scientists and philosophers appeal to 'Multiverse' theories to explain the Anthropic Principle. If you have a large number of universes (infinite?), the odds that at least one of them would develop intelligent life goes up. In fact, if there's an infinite number of universes, intelligent life could be inevitable. Personally, I think there's something disingenuous in telling people they can't appeal to an entity that we can't detect directly (God) as an explanatory tool, and then appeal to other universes (which we also can't detect directly, and may, in principle, never be able to)