2006

Jack Lucentini, "Is This Life?" (2006)

"The Scientist" January 2006 Volume 20 | Issue 1 | Page 30; http://www.the-scientist.com/2006/1/1/30/1/

W.R. Stoeger, G.F.R. Ellis, and U. Kirchner, "Multiverses and Cosmology: Philosophical Issues" (2006)

Date (revised v2): Thu, 19 Jan 2006 18:53:06 GMT (42kb); http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/astro-ph/pdf/0407/0407329.pdf --- Abstract --- The idea of a multiverse -- an ensemble of universes or universe domains -- has received increasing attention in cosmology, both as the outcome of the originating process that generated our own universe, and as an explanation for why our universe appears to be fine-tuned for life and consciousness. Here we carefully consider how multiverses should be defined, stressing the distinction between the collection of all possible universes, and ensembles of really existing universes, which are essential for an anthropic argument. We show that such realised multiverses are by no means unique, and in general require the existence of a well-defined and physically motivated distribution function on the space of all possible universes. Furthermore, a proper measure on these spaces is also needed, so that probabilities can be calculated. We then discuss several other major physical and philosophical problems which arise in the context of ensembles of universes, including the emergence and causal effectiveness of self-consciousness, realized infinities, and fine- tuning, or the apparent need for very special initial conditions for our universe -- whether they or generalized generic primordial conditions are more fundamental. Then we briefly summarise scenarios like chaotic inflation, which suggest how ensembles of universe domains may be generated, and point out that the regularities which must underlie any systematic description of truly disjoint multiverses must imply some kind of common generating mechanism. Finally, we discuss the issue of testability, which underlies the question of whether multiverse proposals are really scientific propositions.

Geoff Brumfiel, "Our Universe: Outrageous fortune" (2006)

"Nature" 05 Jan 2006, vol. 439, s. 10-12. --- Abstract --- A growing number of cosmologists and string theorists suspect the form of our Universe is little more than a coincidence. Are these harmless thought experiments, or a challenge to science itself? Geoff Brumfiel investigates.

Carl Zimmer, "Clint Is Dead, Long Live Clint" (2005)

"Corante" August 31, 2005; http://www.corante.com/loom/archives/2005/08/31/clint_is_dead_long_live_clint.php

Dennis Overbye, "Someday the Sun Will Go Out and the World Will End (but Don't Tell Anyone)" (2006)

"The New York Times" February 14, 2006; http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/science/14comm.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

"More Evidence Chicxulub Was Too Early" (2006)

The Geological Society of America 29 March 2006, GSA Release No. 06-14; http://www.geosociety.org/news/pr/06-14.htm

Andrew C. Revkin, "Studies Portray Tropical Arctic in Distant Past" (2006)

"The New York Times" June 1, 2006

William Orem, "Questioning the Big Bang. A handful of researchers posit an alternative theory of origin — the universe has no beginning" (2006)

"Science & Theology News" August 2, 2006; http://www.stnews.org/news-2934.htm