We are all familiar with the concept of tuning, particularly in regard to musical instruments. We know that to “stay in tune” means to play with the right pitch and to harmonize with other instruments. Even the untutored ear knows when a piano is out-of-tune: something sounds out-of-balance and disjointed. Sounds that only roughly track a melody. It turns out that when scientists started studying the universe at large they discovered a tuning on a completely different level. Indeed, the deeper scientists look, the more fine-tuned our particular universe looks. Fine-tuned, that is, to allow for the possibility of life. At this point, scientific observation crosses over into philosophical speculation and even theism. How is it possible for the big bang to have produced a universe so precisely balanced? The fine-tuning of the universe has become one of the most written-about topics in science, forming the theme of a number of best-sellers, such as The Accidental Universe by Paul Davies and the intimidating, but highly readable, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle by John Barrows and Frank Tipler. This show’s guest, Luke Barnes, is co-author of new book, A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos, that provides an open-ended and entertaining perspective on the great fine-tuning mystery. Listen in as Luke Barnes, Professor of Physics at Western Sydney University, joins Philip Comella in a no-holds barred conversation on a topic that continues to challenge many of science’s basic assumptions.

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Luke Barnes: Profiles

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