Some would argue that the Earth (indeed the whole Universe) is so carefully fine-tuned for life that it makes the existence of a creator a foregone conclusion.
It is an easy argument to buy into when a warm rain is falling and an untold number of small mouth bass are volunteering to jump into your canoe.
But Douglas Adams points out,
"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!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for."
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| sentient puddle |
In other words, (as Wikipedia kind of phrases it in their article on The Anthropic Principle) ...the universe may appear to fit us perfectly, while in fact, we simply fit the universe perfectly.
While I have my doubts that the universe was perfectly fine tuned for me personally, (as I am daily reminded at the 10 o'clock scheduling meeting) I will admit that some days seem to be better designed than others.
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| Sunset at Cape Kiwanda March 30, 2013 |
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| Sunset at Cape Kiwanda March 30, 2013 |
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| Evidently, the air has been designed to hold up our sails. |
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| A benevolent day at Cape Kiwanda |
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