Appertunity

By appertunity

Life always finds a way

There's something scientists call the anthropic principle.

It's taken from the fact that many of the universal constants are so finely tuned that life in the universe is inevitable.

Here are some examples for our planet:

If ice did not float, our planet would experience runaway freezing.

If there were too much of just one of the many gases which make up our atmosphere, our planet would suffer a runaway greenhouse effect.

If Earth?s albedo (reflectivity) were much greater than it is now, we would experience runaway freezing. If it were much less than it is, we would experience a runaway greenhouse effect.

Earth?s magnetic field. If it were much weaker, our planet would be devastated by cosmic radiation. If it were much stronger, we would be devastated by severe electromagnetic storms.

Earth?s place in the solar system. If we were much further from the sun, our planet?s water would freeze. If we were much closer, it would boil.

Our solar system?s place in the galaxy. If our solar system were too close to the center of our galaxy, or to any of the spiral arms at its edge our planet would be devastated by cosmic radiation.

The universe needs to be as big as it is in order to evolve just a single carbon-based life-form.

The universe also needs to be as old (15 billion years) as it is to evolve carbon-based life. This is because carbon is produced in stars, and this process takes over 10 billion years.

All this for a tiny plant struggling through a crack in a wall! Amazing!

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