100 Billion
[for a while, preface with the following– skip over if seen before]
In order to hint at how serious this Blog is, let the author unequivocally state that the Knowledge here imparted, none of it original, none to be credited to the author, that Knowledge is THE MOST VALUABLE treasure that exists. If hypothetically offered 100 Billion dollars to forgo this Knowledge, that offer or any other would be disregarded in the blink of an eye. Even with all the good that might be accomplished with $100B, this Knowledge is beyond the World & comes from beyond the Mind. This is no hyperbole.
Prior to excerpting another Ramana Maharshi disciple in the text below we institute a new series here concerning the so-called Fine-Tuned Universe similarly termed the Anthropic Principle. Bracketed immediately below is a disclaimer and a reminder that will be repeated from time to time to recall to mind the purpose for delving into such a discussion that purpose would be to see that:
[In the unreal reflection called the "Universe", a product of an unreal Mind, even there, Infinite Intelligence is evident and inspiring.]
Fine-Tuned Universe 1:
In 1913, a chemist, Lawrence Joseph Henderson in his The Fitness of the Environment, noted the "importance of Water and the Environment with respect to living things", pointing out that "Life depends entirely on the very specific Environmental conditions on Earth, especially with regard to the prevalence and properties of Water."
Besides multifold coincidence of close tolerances with regard to Water and other necessities such as the composition of the Atmosphere, all are affected by Planetary temperature, the protective Magnetic Field, duration of the Seasons, and so on.
The significance of the observation was lost for half a century until in 1961, physicist, Robert H. Dicke again declared that: certain forces in Physics: Gravity Electromagnetism, … were perfectly fine-tuned in order for Life to exist anywhere in the Universe.
The issue was again essentially buried for another score of years until Fred Hoyle in his 1984 Intelligent Universe stated that: "the chance of obtaining even a single functioning protein by chance combination of amino acids to a star system full of blind men solving Rubik's Cube simultaneously."
Biochemistry has since argued, with some plausibility, that even complex molecules of life can be logically deduced from causative chains of interaction starting which far similar initial components. So the issue of a fine-tuned Universe shifted to more primal issues such as the prevalence of Carbon itself and likewise the Oxygen required in our Atmosphere, and for the proliferation of Water.
In the so-called "Triple-Alpha Process" the so-called ""Hoyle state", the 3rd-lowest energy state of the Carbon-12 nucleus, namely 7.656 MeV above ground fits fortunately within a rough 7.3 – 7.9 MeV range, to allow sufficient abundance of Carbon.
A refined range of 7.596 – 7.716 MeV has been claimed, along with a Fine-Tuning of the Nuclear Strong Force to a precision of less than 0.5%, both for Carbon & similar ranges hold for Oxygen.
Likewise, the Electromagnetic Force must be Fine-Tuned to a precision of less than 4% to prevent loss of both Carbon & Oxygen. Many dozens of other factors also come into play and must hold simultaneously and essentially independently. This all leads to a net probability estimate indicating the unlikelihood of advanced Life, never mind intelligent Life anywhere in the Universe, without incredible Fine tuning of physical parameters that could theoretically have been different.
A few salient points will be raised when this series is taken up again. But for the moment, we end with a quick look at just how improbable the Fine-Tuning of the Universe actually seems to be.
Considering the number of atoms, molecules, protons, electrons, positrons, mesons, strings, all kinds of sub-nuclear particles that few of us know anything about – the countless number of those in the knowable Universe. This number is said to be generously estimated s less than a number that starts with one and has 80 zeros following it.
Now if we have 86 zeros, that's 1 Million of such Universes, 89 being Billion, 92 zeros being a Trillion, and so on. Can you imagine how vast the number were talking about ?
When we go further up to 100 zeros that's called a Googol, that which the Google search engine was named after, with a little bit of different spelling. Now extend that Googol to a number with again 109 zeros. That's 1 billion of that much, and go all way to 200 zeros, beyond all imaginations 300 zeros to 400 zeros to 500 zeros.
The chance of the Universe being as fine-tuned so as to allow Life of any kind, never mind Intelligent life seems to be 1 in again the number is a 1 followed by 500 zeros. Some have even extended this to 1000 zeros.
Now this actually caused some Physicists who were Agnostic or Atheistic to turn back to the Theism of their childhood. Most stood their ground, fixed in the predominant philosophy of Scientists, namely that of Atheism.
If there is no God. the only way to explain these long, long odds is to have a Multi-Verse with that many Universes, countable with 1 with 100 zeros. 500 zeros. 1000 zeros. all unknowable. all unprovable. all having no impact on us. and all being totally irrelevant – a pure figment of Imagination.
Their only support is that either the Multi-Verse exists, to make this unlikely Fine-Tuned chance somewhat probable, or there's an Divine Intelligence to Universe. Since Divine Intelligence is totally unacceptable to these "wise and intelligent" people, then there must be a Multi-Verse of such preposterous proportions.
This is the sad state of Philosophy and Science at the present time. And so to both inspire ourselves with the Fine-Tuning of the Universe, and to have a chuckle at the expense of those who "lead us intellectually", we will take up a few of these points in other episodes of this particular series of the Fine-tuned Universe.
Physicist Paul Davies in his book on the topic summarizes that: "There is now broad agreement among physicists and cosmologists that the Universe is in several respects 'fine-tuned' for life" … "the conclusion is not so much that the Universe is fine-tuned for life; rather it is fine-tuned for the building blocks and environments that life requires."
Some selections adapted from the Maharshi disciple, Master Nome:
Knowledge is as formless as is Existence itself is Formless Being- Consciousness. Knowledge of this is realized by deep Self-Inquiry as to what we really are. The Knowledge is as formless as Existence is. There is then, in truth, no form to the Self-Inquiry – yet its direction is inward, and non-objective. It is of the very same nature as the Space-like Being-Consciousness that you are trying to realize. Because it is of the same nature, by Self-Inquiry, one's whole sense of Identity is absorbed so that we abide in That, as That [Being-Consciousness] itself. Whatever is a form of so-called "knowledge" is not the Self, and is not True Knowledge. Thought-transcendent Knowledge, however, is True Knowledge. What is thought-transcendent is also, obviously. Sense-transcendent.
With Self-Inquiry, find within yourself the interior, formless, non- thought Knowledge of your own Existence. Whatever is conceived should he considered as "not this" – neti. Whatever is conceived is not a definition for the Self. The unconceived, the unformed, is utterly Non-Dual. It is only One, the singular Knowledge of One Existence – so Non-Dual in nature that the Knowledge and the Existence cannot he separated, even to the least degree. So. Inquire, within yourself, in meditation, "Who am I ?" Do not engage yourself, do not entangle yourself, with anything conceived – treating all such conceptions as insubstantial Imagination. "Who am I ?" Go to the very root of conception. and beyond it – "Who am I ?"
Beyond conception. in the essence of your Being. lies the vast, formless. space-like Knowledge. Inquire. and realize it for yourself.
The above themes & 1600 pages more are freely available as perused or downloaded PDF’s, the sole occupants of a Public Microsoft Skydrive “Public Folder” accessible through:
www.jpstiga.com\
http://jstiga.wixsite.com/nonduality\
or withs Caps-sensitive:
http://sdrv.ms.YPOgkX
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