Creativity Pool Forums

Have you ever heard of the Anthropic Principle? Basically, it's the theory that 'if something must be true for us, as humans, to exist, then it is true simply because we exist.' The universe exists simply because it is there for us to observe. In other words, humans learned of the existence of the universe through observing how the universe was formed by the discovery of the laws of physics. If humans had not evolved to the present level, then observation would be impossible, and they would never learn of the existence of the universe. This means whether the universe exists or not, for a human who hasn't completely evolved, it wouldn't make much of a difference. It is because of the presence of us completely evolved humans that the existence of the universe is widely accepted.

BTW i think that it's such a *beep* way of thinking! I mean, the universe exists regardless of whether humans exist or not. the Anthropic Principle is not completely scientific, just a philosophical way of thinking. However, something interesting comes out from this theory. Why did the universe come to be in a state suitable for human habitation? A minor change in the gravitational constant would mean a completely different universe from the one we're in. Other sets of rules such as Planck's Constant or the mass ratio of atomic molecules seem to be designed specifically so that humans can live in this universe. Don't you find this incredible?


Please, correct me if I'm wrong somewhere - I'm not so good in physics.