Understanding

I had a fever that started on Monday.  By the evening, it was 102.6F.  I decided to tough it out for the night (not a very wise decision).  By Tuesday afternoon, it was 103.4F (39.7C). I called the doctors and was told to go in immediately. Blood counts were done and they were good enough, which means my immune system should be able to fight the infection off. Blood samples were taken for culturing.  A chest X-ray was ordered to rule out pneumonia and other respiratory infections.  Since the culturing could take up to 5 days, a shotgun approach was employed with two complementing antibiotics (one for Gram positive and the other for Gram negative bacteria).  I was then sent home and told to go to ER if I begin to feel sick over night. Although the doctor said I could take Tylenol, I did not take any because fever is part of our defense mechanism against infections.  (Most bacteria can’t thrive in high temperature.)  I tough it out for another night knowing that the antibiotics will kick in eventually.  Fortunately, the fever was mostly gone by Wed. noon.  My doctor and I decided it would be the best to push back the next chemo cycle by a week so that my body has an opportunity to recover.  My surgical wound has not become smaller but it is now only half as deep as before.  With an open wound like this, infection control is critical to my survival and keeping the chemo on schedule.

Fine-tuning of the laws of physics:

Romans 1: 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

When one looks at the universe, it is almost impossible not to be awed by its wonder, beauty, elegance and mystery.  As we learn more about it, it is natural to ask the following question:  How can the universe possibly have obtained the unique set of physical properties it has, so exquisitely fine-tuned for life as they are, except by a purposeful design—design with life and perhaps humanity in mind (Swinburne 1998, Ellis 1993, Ross 1995)?

In this first part of the series, we will look at examples of fine-tuning of the laws of physics. (While having had Modern Physics and Chemistry would have been helpful, I have tried to write the following for lay-persons.  It is possible that I have failed miserably. Please let me know if there is any error or room for improvement.)

According to modern physics, there are four forces in nature – the strong nuclear force that holds protons and neutrons together in an atom nucleus, the weak force that controls e.g., the decay of a neutron into a proton, electromagnetism, and gravity.  If strong force did not exist, protons and neutrons could not bind together and hence no nuclei other than hydrogen nucleus would exist; and if the strong force were not a short range force, all matter would either undergo fusion or bind together; if gravity did not exist, masses would not clump together to form stars and planets and hence the existence of complex of life forms; if electromagnetic force did not exist, nuclei and electrons would not form atoms; if the weak force did not exist, no neutrons would decay to protons, which would make hydrogen-containing molecules much less abundant, and hence little fuel for the nuclear processes in stars (hydrogen has one proton in its nucleus).

If there were no quantization principle, which dictates that particles such as electrons can only occupy certain discrete allowed quantum states, there would be no atomic orbits for electrons and hence no chemistry since, for example, no two hydrogen atoms would even be alike.

Moreover, life depends upon the operation of certain principles in the quantum realm. For example, the Pauli Exclusion Principle, which states that no more than one particle of a particular kind and spin is permitted in a single quantum state, plays a key role in nature. It guarantees the stability of matter and the size of atomic and molecular structures and creates the shell structure of atomic electrons. In a world not governed by this principle, only compact, superdense bodies could exist, providing little scope for complex structures or living organisms.

In the next part of this series, we will look at examples of fine-tuning of the constants of physics.

May this find you and your loved ones in good spirit and health.