The Privileged Planet

How Our Place In the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery

A discussion based on the book by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards

Rod Nave, Ph.D., Dept of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University

"the conditions allowing for intelligent life on Earth also make our planet strangely well suited for viewing and analyzing the universe." Gonzalez and Richards


Conditions which allow us to learn
  • Clear atmosphere
  • Moon just the right size and distance
  • Position in galaxy just so
  • Sun of precise mass and composition

"The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible." Einstein

Outline
Index

References
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The Privileged Planet

A discussion based on the book by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards

Faithpath
Index

References
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Rare Earth

The book "Rare Earth" by Ward and Brownlee sets out some of the conditions which must be met for intelligent life to exist.

Privileged Planet
Index

References
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Living on a Data Logger

The stable climate and periodic patterns of seasons and tides produce phenomena which record historical data.

Besides the multitude of currently measurable properties of Earth, it has faithfully recorded an abundance of historical data for our analysis.

Privileged Planet
Index

References
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The Galactic Habitable Zone

Central bulge
Dangerous collisions, supernovae, radiation
Spiral arms
Dangerous collisions, supernovae, radiation, dust and gas clouds
Outer half of galaxy
Deficiency of heavy elements makes Earth-sized planets impossible.
Globular cluster
Dangerous collisions, no night, radiation
Between intermediate spiral arms
Freedom from the hazards of other regions.
Unobstructed view of most of the universe.
Privileged Planet
Index

References
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Designed for Discovery


The fact that the most habitable regions also are the regions which are most favorable for learning about the universe can be used to make a case for design.

"As it is, we know that the laws of physics and initial conditions, themselves fine-tuned, are compatible with a wide range of local conditions, only a few of which are habitable. It's intrinsically interesting, and surprising, to find that those few habitable places are also the ones most conducive to diverse types of scientific discovery." Gonzalez & Richards, p 304

"What is so striking is that our cosmos appears to be not just supremely fit for our being and for our biological adaptations, but also for our understanding." Quote from Michael Denton's Nature's Destiny, p262.

The conditions for habitability and the conditions for measurability would seem to be independent. The 'coincidence' of them happening together might be a clue.

Privileged Planet
Index

References
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