4 1/2 minute read plus 1 video
We’re Even More Special Than You Think
As we’ve seen in the finely tuned galaxy and solar system material, there are about 400 critical characteristics that must be fine tuned to support life on earth. The probability of all those factors being tuned as they are is incredibly small. The only viable source for such fine tuning is God.
However, that’s not the end of the story. There are also a key set of characteristics within and surrounding the earth that are required for life. These characteristics are also finely tuned. As with other aspects in the universe, “there’s clearly something special about them.”
Earth Is Highly Finely Tuned
Let’s look at the unique characteristics of the earth for more evidence of fine tuning. Here’s a nice 7 minute video from Illustra Media that discusses those characteristics. It’s interesting that their calculation for the likelihood of all these factors coming together by random chance is 1 in 1015. Maybe we’re special after all!
Key Conclusions From The Video
- The video presents 20 key factors that are finely tuned to support life on earth. It includes details on several of those factors
- A thin crust with plate tectonics allows key elements required for life to be remixed, recycled and reused
- A slowly spinning molten iron core creates a large enough magnetic field to shield the planet from the sun’s solar wind that could strip away to atmosphere
- An atmosphere rich in nitrogen and oxygen enables a temperate climate, protection from the sun’s radiation, chemical reactions to occur, and the availability of liquid water required for complex life
- Our moon orbits the earth on a stable axis ensuring a temperate, mild climate needed for life
- Our G2 class star is larger than 90% of those in our galaxy and is large enough to allow the earth to rotate within a habitable zone. This is also required for our temperate climate avoiding temperature and radiation extremes
- Researcher have conservatively estimated the probability of tuning all 20 factors to the degree required for life to exist on earth
- That probability is one part in 1015. That’s an extraordinarily small chance bordering on impossible
- For reference, recall from the Laws of Nature material that there are 100 billion (1011) stars in the galaxy and 1014 cells in the human body
More Finely Tuned Characteristics Of The Earth Required To Support Life
- Rocky composition – provides a more optimal foundation for life than on gaseous planets
- Reasonable mass and gravity – defines the shape and mass characteristics of life
- Moderate rotation rate – prevents the earth’s surface from getting too hot and too cold
- Liquid water – allows substances (like those in the cell) to move around, chemical reactions to occur and molecules to dissolve
- Consistent temperature – Our average earth temperature of 58° F allows for liquid water and provides a stable environment for life
Conclusion
- There are 25 characteristics of the earth that must be finely tuned for it to support life
- The conservative one chance in 1015 probability cited in Illustra Media video is extraordinarily small
- The Reasons to Believe team has identified 922 characteristics of the earth and its surroundings required sustain intelligent physical life in a globally distributed high-technology environment
- They also identified a very large subset required to sustain unicellar life for three billion years
- And they identified a smaller subset required to sustain bacteria for a few months
- The full assessment of these sets of requirement for life can be found here
- Even if you put aside or can’t comprehend 922 elements of fine tuning required of a planet to support a “high technology” life, the probability that even a small fraction all these factors can come together by random chance is so infinitesimally small that it’s more accurate to say it’s impossible
- Are we really THAT lucky? Seriously? No way. This is even more proof pointing to the existence of God and to the fact that he created the universe to support life.