''Cosmic Jackpot'', also published under the title ''The Goldilocks Enigma: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life?'', is a 2007 non-fiction book by physicist and cosmologist Paul Davies, describing the idea of a

fine-tuned universe The characterization of the universe as finely tuned suggests that the occurrence of life in the universe is very sensitive to the values of certain fundamental physical constants and that the observed values are, for some reason, improbable. If ...

The Enigma

In ''Cosmic Jackpot'', Davies argues that certain universal fundamental physical constants are precisely adjusted to make life in the Universe possible: that we have, in a sense, won a "cosmic

jackpot Jackpot or Jackpot! may refer to: * A prize, such as a progressive jackpot * Gardena jackpots, a poker variant * Jackpot, Nevada, a community on the Nevada–Idaho state border Comics * Jackpot (comics), several comic book characters * ''Jack ...

," and that conditions are "just right" for life, as in The Story of the Three Bears. As Davies writes elsewhere, "There is now broad agreement among physicists and cosmologists that the universe is in several respects 'fine-tuned' for life." Paul Davies, "How bio-friendly is the universe?" ''International Journal of Astrobiology'', vol. 2, no. 2 (2003): 115. After explaining this enigma, Davies discusses possible solutions, such as the

anthropic principle The anthropic principle, also known as the "observation selection effect", is the hypothesis, first proposed in 1957 by Robert Dicke, that there is a restrictive lower bound on how statistically probable our observations of the universe are, beca ...

, the idea of a

multiverse The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The di ...

which contains many different universes (including our "just right" one), and the idea of

intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...

The Multiverse

Davies also discusses a number of other ideas connected with the "

." Much like a pencil falling to the ground from its tip in a trade off of symmetry for stability, Davies writes that the Big Bang could have established a complex but stable universe (or multiverse) from symmetry breaking as the heat radiation in "space" lowered abruptly past the Curie Point.

References

External links

Interview
with Paul Davies about his book ''Cosmic Jackpot'' (starts at 40 min)

Paul Davies ''New York Times'' Opinion-Editorial

(

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

) * {{cite web , url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/6035233.stm , title=The Goldilocks Enigma: 3 extracts , publisher=

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, work= Newsnight , date=October 9, 2006 , accessdate=August 20, 2019 2007 non-fiction books Anthropic principle English-language books Intelligent design books Science books

The Enigma

The Multiverse

See also

References

External links