THE MATHS OF PROBABILITY
What has been said so far shows the extraordinary balances among the forces that make human life possible in this universe. The speed of the Big Bang’s explosion, the values of the four fundamental forces, and all the other variables that we will be examining in the chapters ahead and which are vital for existence have been arranged according to an extraordinary precision.
Let us now make a brief digression and consider the
coincidence theory of materialism. Coincidence is a mathematical term
and the possibility of an event’s occurrence can be calculated using the
mathematics of probability. Let’s do so.
| THE PROBABILITY OF THE OCCURRENCE OF A UNIVERSE IN WHICH LIFE CAN FORM | ||||||||
|
The
calculations of British mathematician Roger Penrose show that the
probability of universe conducive to life occurring by chance is in 1010123. The phrase “extremely unlikely” is inadequate to describe this possibility.
|
Roger Penrose, a famous British mathematician and a
close friend of Stephen Hawking, wondered about this question and tried
to calculate the probability. Including what he considered to be all
variables required for human beings to exist and live on a planet such
as ours, he computed the probability of this environment occurring among
all the possible results of the Big Bang.
According to Penrose, the odds against such an occurrence were on the order of 1010123 to 1.
It is hard even to imagine what this number means. In math, the value 10123 means 1 followed by 123 zeros. (This is, by the way, more than the total number of atoms 1078 believed to exist in the whole universe.) But Penrose’s answer is vastly more than this: It requires 1 followed by 10123 zeros.
 Roger Penrose: “This number tells us how precise the Creator’s aim must have been.” |
In practical terms, in mathematics, a probability of 1 in 1050
means “zero probability”. Penrose’s number is more than trillion
trillion trillion times less than that. In short, Penrose’s number tells
us that the ‘accidental” or “coincidental” creation of our universe is
an impossibility.
Concerning this mind-boggling number Roger Penrose comments:
This now tells how precise the Creator’s aim must have been, namely to an accuracy of one part in 1010123. This is an extraordinary figure. One could not possibly even write the number down in full in the ordinary denary notation: it would be 1 followed by 10123 successive 0′s. Even if we were to write a 0 on each separate proton and on each separate neutron in the entire universe- and we could throw in all the other particles for good measure- we should fall far short of writing down the figure needed. 1
The numbers defining the design and plan of the
universe’s equilibrium play a crucial role and exceed comprehension.
They prove that the universe is by no means the product of a
coincidence, and show us “how precise the Creator’s aim must have been”
as Penrose stated.
In fact in order to recognize that the universe is
not a “product of coincidences” one does not really need any of these
calculations at all. Simply by looking around himself, a person can
easily perceive the fact of creation in even the tiniest details of what
he sees. How could a universe like this, perfect in its systems, the
sun, the earth, people, houses, cars, trees, flowers, insects, and all
the other things in it ever have come into existence as the result of
atoms falling together by chance after an explosion? Every detail we
peer at shows the evidence of Allah’s existence and supreme power. Only
people who reflect can grasp these signs.
In the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and day, and the ships which sail the seas to people’s benefit, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky- by which He brings the earth to life when it was dead and scatters about in it creatures of every kind – and the varying direction of the winds, and the clouds subservient between heaven and earth, there are Signs for people who use their intellect. (Surat al-Baqara:164)
Seeing the Plain Truth
20th-century science has come up with categorical
evidence that the universe was created by Allah. The anthropic principle
that we mentioned before reveals every detail of a universe that has
been designed for mankind to live in and in which there is no place for
chance.
The interesting part is that the ones who discovered
all this and came to the conclusion that the universe couldn’t possibly
have come into being by accident are the very same people who defend the
philosophy of materialism. Scientists such as Paul Davies, Arno
Penzias, Fred Hoyle and Roger Penrose are not pious men and they
certainly had no intention of proving Allah’s existence as they pursued
their work. One can imagine that they reached their conclusions about
the design of the universe by a superior power most unwillingly.
The American astronomer George Greenstein confesses this in his book The Symbiotic Universe:
How could this possibly have come to pass (that the laws of physics conform themselves to life)?…As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency – or, rather Agency- must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have stumbled upon scientific proof of the existence of a Supreme Being? Was it God who stepped in and so providentially crafted the cosmos for our benefit?2An atheist, Greenstein disregards the plain truth; nevertheless he cannot keep from wondering. Other, less prejudiced scientists on the other hand, readily admit that the universe must have been specially designed for mankind to live in. The American astrophysicist Hugh Ross ends his article “Design and the Anthropic Principle” with these words:
An intelligent, transcendent Creator must have brought the universe into existence. An intelligent, transcendent Creator must have designed the universe. An intelligent, transcendent Creator must have designed planet Earth. An intelligent, transcendent Creator must have designed life.3
Thus
science proves the reality of creation. Certainly there is Allah and He
has created everything around us–the seen and the unseen. He is the
sole Creator of the extraordinary and outstanding equilibrium and design
of the heavens and Earth.
It has come such a pass that today, materialism has
the flavor of a superstitious, unscientific system of belief. The
American geneticist Robert Griffiths jokingly remarked “If we need an
atheist for a debate, I go to the philosophy department. The physics
department isn’t much use.”4
To sum up: Every physical law and every physical
constant in this universe has been specifically designed to enable human
beings to exist and live. In his book The Cosmic Blueprint, Davies
states this truth in the last paragraph, “The impression of Design is
overwhelming.”5
Doubtlessly, the design of the universe is evidence
of Allah’s power to establish. The precise balances and all the human
beings and other creatures are the evidence of Allah’s supreme power and
act of creation. This result discovered by modern science is just a
reworking of a truth revealed fourteen centuries ago in the Qur’an:
Your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days and then settled Himself firmly on the Throne. He covers the day with the night and, each pursuing the other urgently; and the sun and moon and stars are subservient to His command. Both creation and command belong to Him. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of all worlds. (Surat al-Araf: 54)
| Notes | |
 |
|
| 1. Roger Penrose, The Emperor’s New Mind, 1989; Michael Denton, Nature’s Destiny, The New York: The Free Press, 1998, p. 9 2. George Greenstein, The Symbiotic Universe, p. 27 3. Hugh Ross, Design and the Anthropic Principle, Reasons To Believe, CA, 1988 4. Hugh Ross, The Creator and the Cosmos, p. 123 5. Paul Davies, The Cosmic Blueprint, London: Penguin Books, 1987, p. 203 |
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder