Asri-unix.985 net.space utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!ARPAVAX:C70:sri-unix!REM@MIT-MC Thu Mar 11 23:13:03 1982 Various cosmological comments You've just inspired something brilliant in me, an anthropic explanation for redshift of distant galaxies! Suppose that some physical "constant" that affects the global characteristics of atomic spectra varies continuously but otherwise is free to vary at will. Suppose that when this "constant" is at a maximum, energy (frequency) of spectral lines is at a maximum, and life evolves at a maximum rate. Then the reason we observe distant galaxies redshifted is that we happen to be at a local peak in this physical "constant". Why does this "constant" happen to be at a maximum here, because if it weren't then life would evolve somewhere else instead of here and we would be there instead of here looking at the Universe. I don't for a moment propose this theory, but it's hard to refute! Anybody want to try? ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.