19Oct 2022 by Post

Intelligent Design and Cosmic Fine-Tuning

A Fortunate Universe, Cosmic Habitable Age, dark energy, earth, expansion rate of universe, fine-timing, fine-tuning, Freeman Dyson, Guillermo Gonzalez, Intelligent Design, Jay Richards, Michael Denton, Moon, Physics, Earth & Space, Privileged Species, Rare Earth, solar system, sun, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle, The Privileged Planet, universe
In combination, the factors mentioned here and in my last two posts constrain the “cosmic habitable age” to narrower dimensions. Source
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13May 2020 by Post

Guillermo Gonzalez Extends “Privileged Planet” Arguments to Space Travel

BIO-Complexity, Circumstellar Habitable Zone, earth, Exoplanets, fuel, gravity, Guillermo Gonzalez, Industrial Revolution, Jay Richards, NASA, Peggy Whitson, Physics, Earth & Space, rockets, solar system, space travel, super-earths, The Privileged Planet
As outlined in the book The Privileged Planet, by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards, the Earth is not only fine-tuned for life, but is also well-designed to allow us to make scientific discoveries. A new BIO-Complexity paper by Guillermo Gonzalez, “The Solar System: Favored for Space Travel,” extends privileged planet arguments to our ability to travel in space. Gonzalez previously summarized some of his arguments here, but it’s worth outlining some of his arguments. Many of the exoplanets that are being discovered are giant “super-earths,” planets with a mass up to 10X Earth’s mass. These planets pose a problem for space travel. As the gravity of a planet increases, so does the amount of fuel that is needed for a rocket to escape the gravity of the planet and reach space. As Gonzalez puts it,…
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29Apr 2020 by Post

Are Cosmic and Planetary Fine-Tuning Constant?

A Fortunate Universe, aaas, catastrophes, Children of Light, cosmic fine-tuning, fusion, Geraint Lewis, Guillermo Gonzalez, habitability, heavy elements, Jay Richards, law of gravity, Luke A. Barnes, Michael Denton, Michael R. Wilczynska, natural constants, Paul Dirac, photosynthesis, physicists, Physics, Earth & Space, planetary fine-tuning, Science Advances, stars, The Privileged Planet, The Wonder of Water
Since Paul Dirac first wrote about the subject of cosmic coincidences in 1937, many physicists have marveled at the specific values of natural constants, such as G, the constant in the law of gravity (6.673×10-11 N m2 kg-2) — an extremely low number. This is an empirical value measured carefully in labs under controlled conditions; it is not derived from equations. One could imagine it taking a different value.  But it is balanced between two catastrophes. If stronger, stars would burn hotter, and photosynthesis would be impossible, and life, if it could exist at all under the crush of gravity, would have to take refuge underground. If gravity were weaker, opposite problems ensue: stars would be unable to start fusion and form heavy elements, and would slowly burn out by…
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13Feb 2020 by Post

“Safe to Question” — Another Graduate of Summer Seminars on Intelligent Design Shares Her Story

Ann Gauger, application, biological complexity, biology, Bruce Gordon, Daniel Reeves, deadline, engineers, graduate students, Guillermo Gonzalez, Intelligent Design, Iron Curtain, John West, mathematicians, Michael Behe, origins of life, Paul Nelson, philosophers, physicians, physicists, professors, Research, Soviet Union, Stephen Meyer, Summer Seminars on Intelligent Design, tipping point, undergraduates, William Dembski
Behind every Iron Curtain is a private network of dissenters, who come out into the light when the curtain falls. That was the case with the old Soviet Union. And so it is in the tightly policed world of evolutionary biology with its “great evolutionary firewall,” guarding against expressions of fundamental doubt about neo-Darwinian theory. Discovery Institute is populating a community of dissenters in academia with the annual all-expenses-paid Summer Seminars on Intelligent Design, to be held this year from July 10 to 18 in Seattle. The application deadline is March 4. Intended for current undergraduate and graduate students plus a few teachers and professors, the Seminars run on two parallel tracks:  The C.S. Lewis Fellows Program on Science and Society; and  The CSC Seminar on Intelligent Design in the…
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30Jan 2020 by Post

Introducing Walter Bradley: Friend, Hero, and Coauthor of The Mystery of Life’s Origin

Artificial Intelligence, Baylor University, Biola University, Brian Miller, Charles Thaxton, David Klinghoffer, Discovery Institute, Douglas Axe, Guillermo Gonzalez, Intelligent Design, James Tour, Jay Richards, John Buell, Jonathan Wells, Reasonable Faith, Rice University, Roger Olsen, Skynet, Stephen Meyer, Terminator franchise, The Privileged Planet, They Mystery of Life's Origin, Undeniable, Walter Bradley, Walter Bradley Center
Editor’s note: The following is adapted from remarks by Robert J. Marks at the 2020 Dallas Conference on Science & Faith. At the event, Stephen Meyer commented that The Mystery of Life’s Origin, by Walter Bradley and his colleagues, new released in an expanded form by Discovery Institute Press, inspired the current generation of leaders in the intelligent design community. Dr. Meyer said it was his hope there were those in the audience who would be similarly moved in the next generation. Dr. Marks concurred. Greetings! I am Robert J. Marks and I am the Director of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural & Artificial Intelligence. I am also a Distinguished Professor at Baylor University. The Bradley Center is the new kid on the block at Discovery Institute. We are…
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