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

The Privileged Planet

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

The Earth as a cradle for intelligent life is an extremely rare place.
The Earth provides the opportunity to learn about the creation.
Our place in the galaxy is well suited for learning about the universe.
The universe is designed for discovery.

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.

It must be in the habitable zone of a Sun-type star.
Moderate axis tilt
Large moon to stabilize rotation axis.
Large planets to shield from impacts
Right amount of carbon and water
Oxygen atmosphere within appropriate range.
Internal heating by radioactive isotopes.
plate tectonics as a thermostat and to make possible the Earth's magnetic field.
Magnetic field to shield from charged particle radiation.

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.

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.

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.