Paddy Leahy writes:
>Sure enough, you came up with my objection years ago, in the form of the
>"White Rabbit" paradox. Since usage is a bit vague, I'll briefly re-state
>it here. The problem is that worlds which are "law-like", that is which
>behave roughly as if there are physical laws but not exactly, seem to
>vastly outnumber worlds which are strictly "lawful". Hence we would expect
>to see numerous departures from laws of nature of a non-life-threating
>kind.
>
>This is a different objection to the prediction of a complete failure of
>induction... it's true that stochastic universes with no laws at all (or
>where laws abruptly cease to function) should be vastly more common still,
>but they are not observed due to anthropic selection.
I don't know if you can make a sharp distinction between the really weird
universes where observers never evolve and the slightly weird ones where
talking white rabbits appear now and then. Consider these two parallel
arguments using a version of the anthropic principle:
(a) In the multiverse, those worlds which have physical laws and constants
very different to what we are used to may greatly predominate. However, it
is no surprise that we live in the world we do. For in those other worlds,
conditions are such that stars and planets could never form, and so
observers who are even remotely like us would never have evolved. The mere
fact that we are having this discussion therefore necessitates that we live
in a world where the physical laws and constants are very close to their
present values, however unlikely such a world may at first seem. This is the
anthropic principle at work.
(b) In the multiverse, those worlds in which it is a frequent occurence that
the laws of physics are temporarily suspended so that, for example, talking
white rabbits materialise out of thin air, may greatly predominate. However,
it is no surprise that we live in the orderly world that we do. For in those
other worlds, although observers very much like us may evolve, they will
certainly not spend their time puzzling over the curious absence of white
rabbit type phenomena. The mere fact that we are having this discussion
therefore necessitates that we live in a world where physical laws are never
violated, however unlikely such a world may at first seem. This is the
*extreme* anthropic principle at work.
If there is something wrong with (b), why isn't there also something wrong
with (a)?
--Stathis Papaioannou
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Received on Wed May 25 2005 - 08:16:59 PDT