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Fine Tuning argument / The best argument for the existence of God

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
Dont call it "paradox if you don't want" yiu can use any label that you want.


The point is that it represents an insuperable obstacle for chance hypothesis....


If you disagree feel free to explain exactly what you disagree
You made the claim. That puts a burden of.proof upon you. As usual all you have are empty unsupported claims. That which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. It does not put up barriers thicker than a wet paper towel.
 

LegionOnomaMoi

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Right - the tautology: because the universe is exactly what it is, it's exactly what it is; if the universe were different, it would be different.

Trivially true, but not useful or meaningful.
It is highly meaningful and nontrivial for theoretical physicists and cosmologists as well as those in foundation physics, HEP, astrophysics, etc. To take one example, here is literally textbook physics written by Carroll (the guy featured elsewhere in this thread as a steadfast opponent of the so-called fine-tuning argument:
“Typically, as physicists we look for laws of nature, and imagine that we are free to specify initial conditions and ask how they evolve under such laws. But the universe seems to have only one set of initial conditions, so it seems sensible to wonder if they are relatively generic or finely-tuned. Within the conventional picture, the early universe is indeed finely tuned to incredible precision.” (pp. 365-66)
Carroll, S. (2004). Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity. Pearson Education Inc.

Another literally textbook physics example of the issue, but this time with specific finely-tuned constants:
"The unexplained uniform temperature in regions that appear to be causally disconnected is called the ‘horizon problem’. It is not a problem in the sense that this model makes a prediction that is in contradiction with observation. The different temperatures could have perhaps all had the same temperature ‘by chance’. This option is not taken seriously...
As with the horizon problem, the issue is not one of a prediction that stands in contradiction with observation. There is nothing to prevent Ω from being arbitrarily close to unity at early times, but within the context of the cosmological model that has been described so far, it could have just as easily had some other value. And if other values are a priori just as likely, then it seems ridiculous to believe that nature would pick Ω ‘by chance’ to begin so close to unity. One feels that there must be some reason why Ω came out the way it did."
Grupen, C. (2020). Astroparticle Physics (2nd Ed.). Springer.

These problems are so widely acknowledged as such in cosmology and related fields within physics that they are quite literally standard textbook topics.

Why would that be a "problem?" There are plenty of things that we have no explanation for.
Because in the sciences we generally seek for explanations when possible especially when our theories and data seem to scream that they are required but missing. To simply accept as given whatever observations we might think to somehow record prevents the theory-construction process, hinders scientific progress more generally, and is antithetical to scientific thinking.

But again: unlikely random events happen all the time.
And again, it is precisely this approach that not only prevented the emergence of science, but also in this case and for these types of issues is particularly antithetical to scientific inquiry. To note again a specific fine-tuning problem and the complete dismissal of what seems to be your approach, consider the author's comment below on the flatness problem:
“But that begs a question: why is it [so unbelievably small then? Since what it is now, is a result of what it was in the past, we need to explain this unnaturally small number (saying it is what it is, via the most vanilla type of anthropic principle, the fact that the Universe is as it is, since otherwise there would be no people to see it, simply avoids any attempt at an explanation).” (p. 97)
Năstase, H. (2019). Cosmology and String Theory (Fundamental Theories of Physics Vol. 197). Springer.
 

LegionOnomaMoi

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Because so many things have to happen it's very clear the universe was not fine tuned for life. No matter how you look at it now, the early universe does not appear to be there as a "life-creator". This isn't complicated.
It is exceedingly complicated and is an outstanding problem in cosmology, HEP, and BSM physics. Not the "life-creator" part so much, and certainly not with respect to evolution, but rather with fine-tuning in the universe and the precision required for the parameters in our models to allow a universe that can sustain itself, let alone much in the way of matter and molecules (and still less, sustain life).



All "God of the gap" notions.
Yes, But in reality, "_ in the gap" notions are a primary driver of science, metaphysics, and pseudoscience (among much else). It seems to me completely unreasonable to say that because our universe was finely-tuned, this implied a "tuner". But it is just about equally ridiculous to turn our backs on a long tradition of principles within physics that have proved so fruitful and simply accept a process in which we use experimental precision to cancel out divergences in a series of delicate processes in order to finely-tune models to match what can be observed when tiny deviations from certain of these values drastically alter the possibility of cosmic structures or a cosmos at all for reasons we have no explanation for. Likewise, it is nearly as fantastical to posit cosmologies involving speculative metaphysics (e.g., multiverse cosmologies) based on the vary same reasoning used in the fine-tuning argument(s) for God.

In fact it's almost impossible because taking a quantum ball of super compressed energy being bound by the Heisenburg uncertainty laws, you cannot expect anything to happen of note.
This is just wrong.
Like I said matter may have all been annihilated right away.
Observation shows the same that quantum mechanics shows - random and probabilities.
This is misunderstanding QM, completely getting annihilation wrong, and mistaking a bunch of theoretical notions while confusing them with incorrect inferences from observation (all the while mistaking the nature of randomness in QM and physics more generally).

The universe follows many mathematical laws, it's like an expression of mathematics and the reason why we see symmetry and order on various levels from the quantum to macroscopic levels.
This is almost as controversial as "god did it" and is accepted by Tegmark and not really anybody else. It is an appeal to faith, aesthetics, and the same kind of reasonining underlying so many theistic arguments that are similarly to be dismissed as unscientific.



It's all speculation, it serves no point and the fundamental laws of QM don't even allow for any of those purposes because you cannot make future predictions with certainty.
Wrong. Firstly, a rather interesting paradox in QM is that one can not only make predictions regarding the evolution of quantum systems with certainty, but one can prevent this evolution altogether so as to make the system more "deterministic" than is possible in classical physics. Secondly, future predictions are impossible in classical physics not only due to impossible precision required for even a 1-body system, but also because the deterministic laws hold only for idealized systems that do not exist (i.e., those which are isolated, which would preclude even in principle our knowledge of them, and those which require a level of measurement accuracy which is even in pricinple impossible as the entire set of possible measurements we could ever make given any technology form a set of measure 0 in comparison with that required of classical physical systems, properties, and processes). FInally, the statistical structures and probabilistic nature of QM are irrelevant here in the manner you seem to suggest.

There are probably other universes with different outcomes. Nature is creating stuff like crazy but somehow it cannot handle universes and multiverses?
And what is our evidence for this? Violations of metaphysical assumptions in observation that lead to speculative pleading (like the kind you dismiss so readily and for exactly the same reason). The "evidence" for other universe described in multiverse cosmologies is basically fine-tuning.
 

LegionOnomaMoi

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Only a probability of zero means that something is impossible.
Technical note: for so-called continuous distributions in probability as well as in the main for mixed distributions, the probability of any singleton is 0. To make this clearer: imagine we are trying to calculate the probability that a process will stop at a particular instant of time in some interval (assuming time is continuous) or the probability of hitting a particular point on a dartboard (assuming space is continuous). Then the probability of stopping at a particular point in time or of hitting a particular point on the dartboard is 0 for all points, while the probability that there will exist a stopping time or that a particular point will be hit is 1.
For processes or random events that take values in the continuum (for continuous random variables), the possibility of any "single" thing (i.e., element of the probability space or singleton) happening is always 0, which you can verify in the simple case of a single continuous r.v. by integrating over an interval [a,a] (i.e., a "point") for any element in the space of values which the r.v. can take. In short, any integral of the form "Integrate f(x) from a to a" will be 0.
 

LegionOnomaMoi

Veteran Member
Premium Member
The BB paradox simply states that even if there is a multiverse, to say that the FT was caused by chance wouldn't be an adequate explanation...
Perhaps not, and in fact I would say it isn't. But it is a similar non-explanation as the designer argument. It is a matter of fitting subjective conceptions of chance with certain aesthetic, metaphysical considerations. This is without getting into the issue of the interpretation of probability, still less the issue, given one or more interpretations, what may be inferred from improbability. Causation cannot generally be inferred, for example. Even if we were to agree that some process/event were improbable, and agree on an appropriate triple <Ω , F , P> (or some less formal measure of improbability), then simply demonstrating that "X is unlikely" cannot imply "therefore Y". It is certainly true that in a multiverse cosmology, it is necessarily the case that some universes such as ours will be finely tuned by chance. It is also true that to infer there must exist such a multiverse because of fine-tuning is at best speculative and more likely flawed reasoning masquerading as theoretical physics. The same is true of the cosmological/fine-tuning argument for a designer.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
It is highly meaningful and nontrivial for theoretical physicists and cosmologists as well as those in foundation physics, HEP, astrophysics, etc.
What are you referring to by "it?" @leroy 's premise or something else?

Because in the sciences we generally seek for explanations when possible especially when our theories and data seem to scream that they are required but missing. To simply accept as given whatever observations we might think to somehow record prevents the theory-construction process, hinders scientific progress more generally, and is antithetical to scientific thinking.
In case you missed it, this thread is about theological apologetics, not scientific thinking.

I have no issue with scientifically investigating the origins of the universe. What I have an issue with is with @leroy 's assertion that, based on our current state of knowledge, we have to reject the possibility that we just don't know why the universe is exactly what it is.

And there is absolutely nothing "antithetical to scientific thinking" in reserving judgement until you have sufficient evidence to support a conclusion. This is the core of science, in fact.

And again, it is precisely this approach that not only prevented the emergence of science, but also in this case and for these types of issues is particularly antithetical to scientific inquiry.
You think that pointing out that "improbable" is not the same thing as "impossible" is what "prevented the emergence of science?" o_O

Give your head a shake.
 

leroy

Well-Known Member
You made the claim. That puts a burden of.proof upon you. As usual all you have are empty unsupported claims. That which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. It does not put up barriers thicker than a wet paper towel.
Yes I accepted the burden proof and provided my testable falsifiable and positive argument


Whant a summary?

1 If you are going to appeal to chance you most prefer the most probable explanation that would explain our observations

2 that you are a bolzman brain under the illusion of living in a FT universe is more probable than a real FT universe

3 therefore you should conclude that you are a bolzman brain


Please spot your point of disagreement
 

leroy

Well-Known Member
If the fossil record would have mammals in he pre-cambrian, evolution wouldn't be able to explain that.
But don't let intellectual honesty get in your way....

In the same way if the universe wouldn't be FT the argument would collapse..... The argument makes specific predictions.

For example if the deep fundamental laws allowed for a wide life permitting rage the argument would fail
 

leroy

Well-Known Member
Try to get hold of the idea of prediction.

Without the theory of evolution:

a ) we would not predict intermediate forms,

b ) nor would we have any idea in what rocks they should be found.
And without design we wouldn't predict that life falls in a narrow rage.

Further discoveries could confirm or refute this prediction.


But in both cases we can use @9-10ths_Penguin @Subduction @gnostic etc "logic" to refute both design and evolution


1 we simply don't know..... We dont know why we have intermediate fossils

2 argument from ignorance..... We dont know why we have intermediates therefore evolution did it

3 its a tautology

4 no no no first you have to show that evolution is true andonky then we can talk about intermidiates
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
And without design we wouldn't predict that life falls in a narrow rage.

Further discoveries could confirm or refute this prediction.


But in both cases we can use @9-10ths_Penguin @Subduction @gnostic etc "logic" to refute both design and evolution


1 we simply don't know..... We dont know why we have intermediate fossils

2 argument from ignorance..... We dont know why we have intermediates therefore evolution did it

3 its a tautology
I get why someone might not want to admit that they don't understand someone else's argument, but at least Google "tautology" to find out it means. It'll save you embarrassment.

4 no no no first you have to show that evolution is true andonky then we can talk about intermidiates
You know that this is what actually happened, right?
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
And without design we wouldn't predict that life falls in a narrow rage.

Further discoveries could confirm or refute this prediction.


But in both cases we can use @9-10ths_Penguin @Subduction @gnostic etc "logic" to refute both design and evolution


1 we simply don't know..... We dont know why we have intermediate fossils

2 argument from ignorance..... We dont know why we have intermediates therefore evolution did it

3 its a tautology

4 no no no first you have to show that evolution is true andonky then we can talk about intermidiates
I am trying to get across one very simple point, which you are not dealing with.The theory of evolution predicts what observations we should expect to make.

If we did not have the theory of evolution, we would have no reason not to expect rabbits in the Cambrian. And we would have no reason to expect drug resistance in microbes and cancer.
 

leroy

Well-Known Member
I get why someone might not want to admit that they don't understand someone else's argument, ?
Argument? What argument? You haven't presented any argument.



For the100th time.

Find any comment made by me that you would disagree with..... And explain why you disagree............ Ohhhhh yea you will run away from this challenge again
 

leroy

Well-Known Member
I am trying to get across one very simple point, which you are not dealing with.The theory of evolution predicts what observations we should expect to make.

If we did not have the theory of evolution, we would have no reason not to expect rabbits in the Cambrian. And we would have no reason to expect drug resistance in microbes and cancer.

No disagreement from my part...... Evolution makes some good predictions predictions

Your point?
 

leroy

Well-Known Member
Because so many things have to happen it's very clear the universe was not fine tuned for life.
Thats kind of the point if many things could have gone wrong...... But things happened to turn out "ok" what explanation do you suggest?
 

LegionOnomaMoi

Veteran Member
Premium Member
In case you missed it, this thread is about theological apologetics, not scientific thinking.

I have no issue with scientifically investigating the origins of the universe. What I have an issue with is with @leroy 's assertion that, based on our current state of knowledge, we have to reject the possibility that we just don't know why the universe is exactly what it is.
And what I am trying to explain to you is that the current approach in cosmology and theoretical physics is to claim that based upon the unnaturally finely tuned nature of the universe (finely-tuned in just such a way that one finds in the literature not infrequent references to a "designer" or "creator"), rather than on our state of knowledge per se, we should and must construct theories/models for which we have no evidence whatsoever other than that without such alternatives the universe appears to be too improbable. Again, to quote the most concise, non-technical explanation by specialists in a reviewed source that passed the inspection of an editorial board (upon which sits Lawrence Krauss, among others) :
"Suppose there was only one universe. Then it would be very difficult to explain miraculous features of our universe, such as the structure of elementary particles and the value of the vacuum energy, without resorting to some sort of creator. In the multiverse picture, however, there are an enormous number (10^500 or more) of different universes, so some of them possess these miraculous features that lead to intelligent life, without a help of any creator. This, of course, does not prove that there is no such creator, but given that a goal of science is to try to understand our physical nature as much as possible without relying on such an almighty person, the approach of the multiverse is exactly that of science."
Nomura, Y. (2018). Demystifying the Multiverse. In Y. Nomura, B. Poirier, & J. Terning (Eds.). Quantum Physics, Mini Black Holes, and the Multiverse: Debunking Common Misconceptions in Theoretical Physics (Multiversal Journeys). Springer.

And there is absolutely nothing "antithetical to scientific thinking" in reserving judgement until you have sufficient evidence to support a conclusion. This is the core of science, in fact.
The point is that the fine-tuning problem is sufficient evidence to warrant outlandish, otherwise completely speculative metaphysical nonsense that is akin to the nonsense one finds in Craig's argument and other arguments from design, in which e.g., there are googols of universe so that ours doesn't appear designed. The point is that to say that improbable, highly unnatural seeming "coincidences" or appeals to aesthetics or even appeals to the fact that our universe shouldn't seem to be designed is a central driver of research, model-building, and theoretical work in cosmology and related fields. The point that the same evidence motivating design arguments by theists are used by cosmologists and theoretical physicists for the same reason: to explain fine-tuning problems.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
Yes I accepted the burden proof and provided my testable falsifiable and positive argument


Whant a summary?

1 If you are going to appeal to chance you most prefer the most probable explanation that would explain our observations

2 that you are a bolzman brain under the illusion of living in a FT universe is more probable than a real FT universe

3 therefore you should conclude that you are a bolzman brain


Please spot your point of disagreement
Hand waving is not defending your argument, and that is all that you have ever done. I am not by any means the only one that has pointed this out to you. But let's go over your argument.

Number 1 is a bit of a strawman but let's accepted it for now.

Number 2 . . . Oh my! No, no no. I am sorry but premises do not work that way. You don't get to make a supposition and state it as a fact. I reject Number 2 and since it is your claim the burden of proof falls upon you.

Number 3, well yes, if Number 2 was correct you might have a valid conclusion,, but you have to prove number 2 first.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
And without design we wouldn't predict that life falls in a narrow rage.

Further discoveries could confirm or refute this prediction.


But in both cases we can use @9-10ths_Penguin @Subduction @gnostic etc "logic" to refute both design and evolution

You should try to learn what logic is first. But go ahead.

1 we simply don't know..... We dont know why we have intermediate fossils

Remember how I said that you need to understand what logic is. It is always a bad idea to start a logical argument with a false premise. It makes the rest of your argument moot.

2 argument from ignorance..... We dont know why we have intermediates therefore evolution did it

Let's see. A strawman and a resulting incorrect logical fallacy. You are going from bad to worse.

This is a second failed premise.



3 its a tautology

No,. Sorry, two failed premises does not justify a false conclusion.

4 no no no first you have to show that evolution is true andonky then we can talk about intermidiates

Ummm, no. That is another strawman. Why do creationists think that fossil evidence is the only evidence for evolution? It is not even the strongest evidence. It is only the most obvious evidence to amateurs.

Nice failure.
 

leroy

Well-Known Member
.

Number 2 . . . Oh my! No, no no. I am sorry but premises do not work that way. You don't get to make a supposition and state it as a fact. I reject Number 2 and since it is your claim the burden of proof falls upon you.

Number 3, well yes, if Number 2 was correct you might have a valid conclusion,, but you have to prove number 2 first.

Sure I can show that number 2 is true.... It is not even controversial

Therefore BBís should outnumber ordinary
observers like us by an infinite factor. So why am I not
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...Vaw2o5wOQCt_WHfUehVMESmDB&cshid=1608550511395




You can get a universe like ours that way, but you’re overwhelmingly more likely to get just a single galaxy, or a single planet, or even just a single brain
Richard Feynman on Boltzmann Brains – Sean Carroll

The Boltzmann brain argument suggests that it is more likely for a single brain to spontaneously and briefly form in a void (complete with a false memory of having existed in our universe) than it is for the universe to have come about in the way modern science thinks it actually did
Boltzmann brain - Wikipedia


But its not a big deal many solutions have been proposed, all you have go do is reject the idea that the low entropy of the universe is a product of chance
 
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