The Strong Anthropic Principle

The weak anthropic principle is not very controversial. But there is a stronger form that we will argue for here, although it is regarded with disdain among some physicists. The strong anthropic principle suggests that the fact that we exist imposes constraints not just on our environment but on the possible form and content of the laws of nature themselves. The idea arose because it is not only the peculiar characteristics of our solar system that seem oddly conducive to the development of human life but also the characteristics of our entire universe, and that is much more difficult to explain.

The tale of how the primordial universe of hydrogen, helium. and a bit of lithium evolved to a universe harboring at least one world with intelligent life like us is a tale of many chapters. As we mentioned earlier, the forces of nature had to be such that heavier elements—especially carbon—could be produced from the primordial elements, and remain stable for at least billions of years. Those heavy elements were formed in the furnaces we call stars, so the forces first had to allow stars and galaxies to form. Those grew from the seeds of tiny inhomogeneities in the early universe. which was almost completely uniform but thankfully contained density variations of about i part in 100,000. However, the existence of stars, and the existence inside those stars of the elements we are made of, is not enough. The dynamics of the stars had to be such that some would eventually explode, and, moreover, explode precisely in a way that could disburse the heavier elements through space. In addition, the laws of nature had to dictate that those remnants could recondense into a new generation of stars. these surrounded by planets incorporating the newly formed heavy elements. Just as certain events on early earth had to occur in order to allow us to develop, so too was each link of this chain necessary for our existence. But in the case of the events resulting in the evolution of the universe, such developments were governed by the balance of the fundamental forces of nature, and it is those whose interplay had to be just right in order for us to exist.

Notes:

Our existence puts constraints on the very laws of nature.

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 The Grand Design
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book:  Hawking , Stephen W. and Mlodinow , Leonard (2011-09-01), The Grand Design, Bantam, Retrieved on 2011-12-12
  • Source Material [books.google.com]
  • Folksonomies: science quantum physics m-theory