Fatalism threatens science (updated 28 Jan 2014)

Image credit www.physics.sfsu.edu/

You may already be aware that modern cosmology has presented us with a strange conundrum, which is that the universe is precision engineered for life. This has only been known about for the last couple of decades  and is rarely talked about in the popular science  media. It has met with frightening indifference and fatuous explanations which seem to me anti-scientific and reminiscent of the Dark Ages.

Dozens of physical constants (e.g. the gravitational, cosmological, weak interaction, strong interaction and fine-structure constants) are finely tuned to an extraordinary degree, e.g. 120 decimal places in the case of the cosmological constant. 

 Fine tuned for what? For the emergence of life. Also, the Big Bang point source of the cosmos started off with just the right amount of entropy to allow life to develop. (Entropy is a measure of the amount of disorder in a closed system.) There is no physical, testable explanation of how this just-right degree of disorder happened to be there. In fact not only life but advanced civilised life appears to be the purpose of the universe. The Milky Way Galaxy, the solar system and the unique physical conditions of our planet and its attendant moon as well as the right relative abundance of the 92 elements in the Periodic Table all conspire towards the emergence of advanced civilisation. There are volumes of evidence. The above are just sprinklings to give the flavour of the mystery.

What does this mean? These aspects of reality cry out for an explanation.

In an attempt to evade or avoid this question some have resorted to what is loosely known as the  Anthropic Principle which states that we can observe only those values of the fundamental constants and quantities that are compatible with our existence. The fact that we exist 'explains' (?!) why the science is such as it is. If it weren’t we would not be here to ask. This is a fatuous, fatalistic, curiosity-killing and non-scientific argument which I hope will be illustrated by the following imaginary dialog.

You have just been blindfolded and shot at point blank range by 100 people with live ammunition and AK 47s. Yet you're alive and unharmed. How could this have happened?

You don’t need to ask why. You are here to ask the question and that is all the explanation you need. The question of how improbable this is does not come into it. Curiosity killed at source.

You were floating in interplanetary space, untethered, with oxygen running out and death looming. Suddenly a great ET machine grabs you, takes you into its interior, revives you and takes you back to the spaceship from which you had broken loose and lets you go as soon as an amazed crew member open the hatch. You are saved. How could this have happened?

No questions needed. You are alive. Of course these things had to happen otherwise you would no longer exist. Again, curiosity killed at source.

The biosphere has, over billions of years, remained life friendly even as the sun's heat input to the planet has grown by 30%. Why?


Various proposals have been put forward but they imply purpose behind the natural world. This would be a heresy for the philosophical materialist. However, we can easily avoid awkward God-related questions about why this is possible by seeking no other answer than this: it had to happen this way, because if it didn't we would not be here. Curiosity killed at source.

Looking at the cosmos it appears to be organised in a very clever way, interconnected and finely engineered to mind boggling precision on an incomprehensible scale, engineered to allow life to emerge at only this place and time in a universe of this size and structure. How did this come about?

Why ask such awkward questions? If you had not been here it would not have happened. Chill out, man.

How can I chill out?

Just bury your head in the sand.

I exist. Why?

The fact that you exist is enough to explain why you exist. Stop asking awkward questions. Curiosity killed at source.

Hmm...

Many so-called scientists have either resorted to these 'explanations' or gone through the most painful  and paradoxical intellectual contortions, such as inventing imaginary universes beyond scientific proof,  to avoid the obvious conclusion that there is a Creator. 

 A good example of science being potentially held back by a stubbornly non-theist view of the universe is in elementary particle physics. For life to be possible there needs to be two kinds of quark (up and down) and two kinds of lepton (electron and electron neutrino).  What is not necessary for life - apparently - are 3  generations of these, making 12 in all. If one assumes these extra types of particle are surplus to requirements and just happen to be there in this particular universe by chance, there is no reason to look any further. They are just there. Curiosity killed.


Hopefully, scientists will look for a new theory in which these extra particles make sense and perhaps have an as yet hidden role in the functioning of life; but if the creeping intellectual paralysis took hold science would be on a downward track.

Biology is also in danger. It appears to be dominated by  an excessively reductionist neo-Darwinist mindset which puts too much emphasis on blind chance. Only a decade ago it was assumed that the 98% of the DNA genome which did not consist of  genes which encode proteins was junk, an accident of evolution by natural selection coupled with mutations. It now turns out that there is staggering functionality in this junk. Fortunately, the habit of looking for order is far from dead but if the habit faded the wrong attitude could be fatal for science.


Imagine where we would be now if Aristotle or Newton or Einstein had thought this fatalistic way. Why not admit there is a God and get on with the business of searching for explanations and theories on how it all fits together? 

That could be one reason we are here.

See also

Hold on to the truth

Why the future is unpredictable

Bridging gaps

The five-fold threat to science

The doctrine of chance

Our precious planet

Is there meaning behind random events?

Reweaving the rainbow

Fighting fatalism

Are some scientists from the planet vulcan?

Chimpanzees and a free lunch

Distorting reality

Jean Paul Sartre: not the way to Peace on Earth

What is truth?


John

 cosmik.jo@gmail.com

Secularism is dangerous, especially for secularists

Consider two possibilities:

Case 1: the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ happened

Case 2: the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ  did not happen

In Case 1 every single particle, creature, person and society in this universe is under the spiritual provenance and destiny of a triune monotheistic Creator. This includes the most strident of atheists and the most determined secular pressure groups who try to remove Christianity from a western society permeated by Christian ideals, albeit struggling to adhere to these .

In Case 2 1.5 billion people are living an illusion and 2000 years of world history are based on it. All the ideals of loving one’s enemy, sanctification of humanity and strengthening of the imago dei through Christ which led to the genesis of academic institutions from monastic orders,  peer reviewed scholarship,  pro-active charity, the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of women are all based on a fantasy and would have happened anyway.

Suppose Case 1 is correct. Few would doubt that if this is true then much of the world is living in open defiance of God. From the Holy Bible, which we are assuming to be true in this scenario,  such behavior will have dire consequences for individuals, societies and nations, as it has done over thousands of years.

Suppose 2 is correct. Then all Christian morals are purely arbitrary, there is nothing sacred about the morality that has evolved in a Christian society and anything goes. We leave individuals to follow whatever morals or authority figures they wish.  The consequences would be horrific, at least after a generation or so as habits of righteous behavior faded away in the absence of spiritual leadership.

If now we assume that secularists are allowed to expunge a Christian presence from society this would lead to the same unfortunate result for both Case 1 and  Case 2, except for the faithful minority in Case 1 who  managed to maintain their faith while living in a godless social milieu, in that they would have the joy of life in Christ in this world and the next.  So Case 1 would lead to the same unfortunate result as Case 2 except for the minority fortified by faith.

So whether Christianity is true or not the imposition of a purely secular culture and removal of the spiritual source of Christian morals is a disastrous activity which, unchecked, would lead to descent into a pre-Christian world and unredeemed misery for unbelievers.

Aggressive secularism is not a path to peace (or even democracy as I hope to show in a future post; but meanwhile take a reflective look at the democratic institutions around you) and leaves the door open to anyone willing and able to exploit human weakness as a means to power and wealth. This applies whatever the truth or otherwise of Christianity.

Kyrie Eleison.

John Sears

Author: 2077: Knights of Peace (being prepared for publication)

The deep mystery of existence. 6. Water, the elixir of life

It has always been recognised that water is life-giving and refreshing in a way that no other liquid can be. It is also regarded as sacred by holy men of various faiths and Christ Himself used it as a metaphor when talking to the Samaritan woman at the well: ‘…whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ John chapter 4, verse 14.

Blood also has been regarded with awe since the dawn of consciousness and considered sacred, as has the heart by which it is pumped around the body. And blood is over 80% water.

Water pervades our bodies not only as blood. It constitutes 90% of the lungs and over 70% of the brain, washes out waste in the kidney and liver and moistens mucous membranes. It regulates the body temperature of mammals and moves nutrients at the cellular level throughout the entire spectrum of the animal and plant kingdoms.

Tea, coffee, beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks all depend on water as the dominant ingredient. Medicines rely on water for their imbibing or dispensation in the form of soluble tablets. There is no food that does not have it as an ingredient or as a part of its production or preparation.

Water has also proved indispensable for civilisation. It permits hygiene (e.g. disinfectants) and waste disposal (e.g. sewage systems), commerce by ocean-going vessels as well as river transport, steam engines, steam turbines and water mills. It is used in innumerable manufacturing processes and the generation of electricity (e.g. hydroelectric power and cooling of nuclear reactors). Even the internal combustion engine depends on petroleum formed from organisms living in and depending on water 300 million years ago. Plate tectonics, a phenomenon apparently unique to Earth, depends on a water-related composition (OH) deep in the crust to help reduce friction between the crustal plates as they slide over each other.

Apart from its astonishing utilitarian value water enhances life in an aesthetic way. In oceans and the atmosphere it forms spectacular phenomenon such as violently churning seas, strange marine lighting effects, rainbows, billowing cumulonimbus clouds,  breathtaking sunsets, sparkling dew, patterns in frost, geometric perfection in ice crystals and undulating, pure white landscapes of snow.  All for the pleasure, inspiration and fear of conscious beings.

Today the power of science is progressively revealing just how astonishing is this substance. When it was formulated – in some non-temporal, non-spatial but mindful way, before our universe of space, time and energy came into being, the water molecule was given a particular structure using particular atoms (two hydrogen and one oxygen) forming bonds of a particular strength at a particular angle to each other, with electrical charge distributed within the molecule in a particular way and with charges attracting each other with a particular strength. A miniscule departure would have meant no water and no living systems.

This configuration of atoms and their properties is further dependent on a host of very finely tuned fundamental physical constants: for example, the electromagnetic force constant which determines the strength of attraction between electrical charges inside and between water molecules has to be right to within 40 decimal places. See also A universe built for life; but how much life?

The fundamental nature of the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the water molecule and the interaction between these molecules leads to a remarkable set of properties. Had any one of these properties been very slightly out there would be no life on this planet.

   

Dissolving power: greater than for any other liquid. This, for example, allows it to carry a rich diversity of nutrients around the body and transport minerals and salts using oceans, lakes, rivers, rain, sleet, snow, fog, mist and cloud. No other liquid would do.

Viscosity: a measure of how thick and treacle-like is a liquid. If water was more viscous it would be too difficult to pump round the circulatory system of a mammal, while sub-cellular and inter-cellular transport would have been impossible. Aquatic creatures would have found it difficult to swim and diffusion of dissolved oxygen into cells would be too slow.  If it was too thin there would be profuse bleeding upon injury and cells would not have been able to retain their shape and structure.

Surface tension: this governs the tendency of a liquid to assemble itself into a droplet or a bubble. Had this been lower there would be no rain, or dew or fog or mist or cloud – all essential to the operation of the life- sustaining global water cycle and planet-wide transport of elements crucial to life as well as of bacteria and viruses, which are themselves essential for the functioning of plants and animals.

Adhesion: this is the ability of a liquid to stick to a surface. Combined with surface tension it determines capillarity. Without this property water would not be soaked up by wet paper, for instance. It is a measure of how easily a liquid rises up a microscopic tube. microtubes are ubiquitous in the plant world, allowing water to be imbibed by roots and distributed throughout the plant. No other liquid has such a high capillarity.

Density: water is unique in having a maximum density above its freezing point, i.e. at 4 deg C. When the temperature falls below this level there is expansion. Water is also alone in being more dense as a solid (i.e. ice) than as a liquid. Overall, the result is that instead of seas, lakes and rivers freezing solid from the bottom upwards a thin thermally insulating layer of ice forms on the surface.

Thermal conductivity: a measure of how well heat is transmitted through a medium. Water has the highest thermal conductivity of any substance and this is just as well since it means that, combined with water’s high specific heat, the sea temperature evens itself out over the planet. Large temperature differences would result in a severely chaotic climate hostile to life. The high thermal conductivity is equally crucial in allowing cells to dissipate heat and so avoid destruction through overheating.

Specific heat: this is the amount of heat needed to warm up a given volume of a substance. This is very high for water so that a mass of water holds a lot of heat and cools only slowly. As stated above it means large temperature differences between bodies of water are avoided.

Latent heat of evaporation: this is the heat needed to turn a liquid into a vapour. For water it is extremely high and this is fortunate since otherwise there would be no water left on earth. Neither would organisms be able to shed heat through evaporation.

Vapour pressure: water has a high vapour pressure and this means that the air above it can hold a lot of moisture, thus enabling rain to form. Since water has the largest heat of evaporation, its vapour pressure increases more rapidly with increasing temperature than for other liquids.

Boiling point and melting point: these are anomalously high. Because they are both high the water remains in liquid form at normal atmospheric pressure and so able to perform its miraculous life giving functions. Its role in the biosphere largely depends on water being able to exist in the liquid state for 4 billion years and to assume a variety of forms of precipitation (snow, hail, rain, fog, mist, dew). This planet is the only one we know of which allows this.

        

I can’t begin to do justice to this subject so if you want to look further I recommend a seven part series, starting with this one, from the RTB website.

Does all this mean that life appears wherever there is water? If that were so living planets would abound. Unfortunately, this looks increasingly unlikely since water, though crucial, is only a necessary condition for life, not a sufficient one. Numerous conditions (e.g. stable environment and protection from harmful radiation), too many to mention here (see Our precious planet), appear to be needed and we still have not much idea how it got started or what it really is. 

See also
Our perception of reality, ancient and modern

John Sears

Author, 2077: Knights of Peace

Contact me via cosmik.jo@gmail.com