Paul Davies will chair a panel discussion on: ‘Confronting the Goldilocks Enigma: why is the universe so uncannily fit for life?’.
Abstract
The latest advances in cosmology have allowed scientists to piece together the story of our universe in unprecedented details. One of the striking features to emerge is how the universe is exquisitely bio-friendly. Even slight changes in the laws of physics or the cosmogical arrangement would prove lethal. Scientists are sharply split, however, on the explanation for this ‘cosmic fine tuning.’ Is it just a lucky fluke? Or does it suggest the existence of a mulitplicity of differing universes co-existing in parallel? Divine providence? Or something else entirely?
Paul Davies is the author of The Goldilocks Enigma and will introduce, and chair, a debate between proponents of each theory, adding a coda of his own.
The Panel will be made up of:
Professor Michael Duff, Imperial College London, talking on String Theory
Bernard Carr, talking on Mulitverse theory
Dr Rodney Holder, Cambridge University
This event is co-hosted by Imperial College London, the Royal Institution and Allen Lane Publishers.