[Inspired by a chat with Felix last night]
“The puddle thought to itself. ‘How amazing. I am exactly the same shape and size as the hole I fill. How much of a coincidence is that?! The hole I find myself in must have been made to have me in it!”
This analogy, from British sci-fi comedy writer and radical atheist Douglas Adams, is often used as an
argument refuting the anthropic principle and fine-tuned universe, about which I wrote in my previous post.
If the Universe didn't fulfil all the conditions necessary to form and expand, it wouldn't be here - but if conscious observers weren't around to observe it - it wouldn't matter whether it was here or not. So - did the Universe just happen to be? Did our consciousness just happen to emerge?
Are we looking for meaning where none necessarily exists? Do
we seek metaphysical explanations where perfectly rational ones will do?
Let's look at Adams' puddle analogy. The list of conditions that a puddle must fulfil to perfectly fit its space is short (the fluidity of water, the impermeability of the hole; gravity). Rainwater will create a puddle to fill any hole, whatever its shape; a Universe will only give rise to conscious life if all the specific conditions are met.
But then for you to exist in the form you are now, you will have to multiply the chances of a Universe suitable for life forming (low) by the list of conditions that every one of your ancestors had to fulfil to reproduce in an unbroken chain (infinitesimally low); trillions of consecutive successful reproductions long, for you to be here reading this now.
A miraculous you in a miraculous Universe.
My personal intuition bends towards miracle rather than chance. Although I cannot prove this in a laboratory experiment, nor in an equation, I feel there is an intention standing behind it all.
Whose intention? Certainly not an anthropomorphic male God as presented by many religions. I don't believe our intellects are anywhere near powerful enough to perceive the underlying reality and purpose and destination of our Universe, we can merely intuit.
A daily sense of connection, an awareness of the statistical improbability of one's conscious existence, however is necessary. Thinking to oneself: "I am. How miraculous, that I am. Here I am, in a miraculous Universe, which I can see unfolding!" And then to feel gratitude for it.
The odds are so vast, they cannot merely be put down to coincidence.
But sometimes coincidences do happen. Yesterday I was in
motion; running around town from meeting to errand to office to dinner, long
walk around Warsaw, then catching the night train to Szczecin. Today on the
train back to Warsaw, I checked yesterday’s paces on my health app. Not bad! 19,101.
I entered it into my spreadsheet. My 2023 daily walking target that I set
myself on 1 January was 11,800 paces. As I entered yesterday’s score and
pressed enter, I was amazed that the average number of paces I walked daily
across January and February was… exactly 11,800. But noticing this (and keeping
a spreadsheet for the tenth year) is a bit on the Asperger’s spectrum, and I
want to dive deeper into this topic during the second week of Lent –
Spirituality and Neurodiversity.
Next though - physical reality vs. the metaphysical.
Lent 2022: Day eight
Body and Soul
Lent 2021: Day eight
Guilty of feeling guilty
Lent 2020: Day eight
Salvation - or peace of mind?
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