Fine-tuning argument for God

According to current, and very well-established, scientific theories, the behaviour of the universe is described by a set of fundamental constants. These constants cannot be calculated theoretically, they can only be determined by making measurements in the real world. Some common examples of such constants are:

• The mass of an electron.
• The speed of light.
• The gravitational constant — this constant relates gravity to mass, so for example it describes how strong the force of gravity is on the Earth given the mass of the Earth.

There are 22 fundamental constants in total. Although some of these constants have been known for a long time, many of them relate to either relativity or quantum theory, which have only been known since the early 20th century.

First appeared on martinmcbride.org

The basis of fine-tuning

The models physicists use to describe how the universe behaves depend on these fundamental constants. Of course, some scientists have speculated about what the universe might have been like if any of these constants had taken different values. That is just natural curiosity.

The result is, arguably, quite surprising. It appears that, if certain constants had been even a tiny bit different, then…