Life, the universe and the Goldilocks Enigma

MICHAEL O’DRISCOLL (Letters, October 3) makes the mistake common to many religious apologists regarding the anthropic principle.

He is correct in saying there appears to be many unlikely coincidences that must all fall into place for the universe to support life as we know it. This is often referred to as the Goldilocks Enigma which, like her porridge, is neither too hot nor too cold.

Equally, our universe is just right. Scientists estimate at least 30 of these conditions, none of which, by the way, is related to the ability of the earth to sustain life, as Mr O’Driscoll claims.

After all, our universe is so vast the odds of at least one planet evolving like ours is more inevitable than unlikely. What is astonishing, however, is that while he is able to ponder and question why the universe is formed, he is then happy to insert God as a kind of cure-all for explaining everything he doesn’t understand. And he does this without offering a single shred of evidence.

What he proposes is mysticism, and nothing less. Unlike scientists, he is not happy to say “I don’t know” and wait until an explanation presents itself. It underlines once again how the religious prefer to live with sweet illusions at the expense of hard truth.

Michael Furey

Coolratty

Oranmore

Co Galway