Fine Tuned Just for Me?—Part 1

Anyone who takes a close look at our universe and examines its physical laws and properties, will be struck by the long string of “coincidences” that had to occur in order for life to appear on this planet Earth. If any of nature’s physical parameters or quantities were even the slightest bit different, life could never have begun.

There is no fundamental reason why the properties of our universe are exactly as they are. Any one of them could be the tiniest bit different. For example, there is no reason we know of that the four basic forces of nature—the weak and strong nuclear forces inside each atom, the electromagnetic force controlling interactions between atoms, and the gravity that defines the attraction between large bodies—have either the absolute qualities or the relative values that they do. If the comparative strengths of these four forces were even slightly different, it would have resulted in a universe unimaginably unlike the one we inhabit—indeed, if it could have even existed at all.

Here are just a few possible consequences: Atoms may never have formed. Hydrogen—the vital element in everything—may never have lasted more than a nanosecond, after it was formed. Any elements heavier than the most basic (including life-essential carbon) may never have had a chance to form. We’ve needed these elements to hang around for billions of years, stable and enduring, for them to become components in the slow, difficult evolution of life.

As another example, our universe possesses a delicate balance between visible matter, dark matter, and dark energy. The three of them must be in precisely the equilibrium they are, or things would be very different. If the balance had tipped slightly another way, the universe would have lasted only a few million years before it collapsed back on itself—far too short a time for life to have evolved. Tipped slightly the opposite direction and the universe would have expanded so rapidly that galaxies, stars, and planets never would have had a chance to form. That universe would simply have been a dilute soup of elementary particles.

Here’s another mystery: water is a very peculiar molecule—with hydrogen and oxygen atoms aligning themselves in such a fashion that ice (the solid form of water) floats on liquid water. For virtually every other element or molecule, the solid form is more dense and sinks. If it weren’t for the unique shape and nature of the water molecule, lakes and oceans would freeze solid from the bottom up in cold weather, rather than “freeze over” and allow life to flourish beneath the surface ice. No one knows why water behaves this way, but if it didn’t, life could never have survived on Earth.

As a final illustration, there are numerous basic constants of nature—for example, the speed of light, the mass of elementary particles, and the electrical charge of elementary particles. If any one of these constants was the slightest degree different, our universe could not be as it is. Either life could never have evolved or the universe itself may never have been able even to get started, following its big bang.

Thus, as we look at our universe, we can see that it is extremely fine-tuned, to allow the necessary evolution of galaxies, stars, planets, and ultimately leading to life on this planet. Change any one parameter by the tiniest amount and we wouldn’t be here. It’s as if all the physical laws have been precisely set to allow, or even compel, humans to exist (at least on this Earth).

What does this mean? If we know of no reason why some of the properties couldn’t have been slightly different—and we don’t—why did the universe get set up this way? What made it so life friendly?

Some people will say that God set all the parameters, on our behalf. He knew exactly what they needed to be, in order to create humans (which, by the way, he had also decided must be in his image). This line of thought, however, not only relies on a supernatural explanation, but places humans at the center of the universe created by a meddling deity. It’s the same kind of thinking that had the Church teaching that Earth was at the center of the universe and that God set all the other heavenly bodies rotating about our planet, just for our pleasure. In this church-supported viewpoint, we humans are the epitome of creation—the end-all and be-all. God did it all for us, planning every tiny detail so that we’d become the final product of the cosmos. I don’t think so. The cosmos is continuing to evolve and the future is still very much up in the air—including our longevity.

Anyone who is not influenced by mythical and simplistic beliefs, however, knows there must be more to the story than that God made it so. We know that Earth is not the center of the universe. We live on a pretty typical rocky world, circling a pretty typical star, on the outer regions of a pretty typical galaxy. We know that there are many billions of such galaxies in the cosmos. To believe that we are any different from or in any way superior to another planet (or living organisms) in this vast universe is nothing more than self-centered, presumptuous, and insular thinking. It is the same kind of thinking that leads to religious pogroms and racial hatred.

No, today we understand enough of the real workings of the cosmos to discard these dangerous beliefs. We know that the firmament is not a rotating sphere of points of light around the Earth. We know that we fly through space in a complex dance, swinging around by the sun, nearby stars, the galaxy, and a collection of several nearby galaxies. There is nothing that obviously places us above any other rocky orb in the cosmos. We as yet have no confirmation of life anywhere else in this vast universe, but all signs tell us it’s likely we’re not alone—and certainly not superlative.

So what is the meaning of all this fine-tuning? More next time…