In Science, A Healthy Skepticism

When I Was A Student, The Laws Of Physics Were Regarded As Completely Off Limits. The Job Of The Scientist, We Were Told, Is To Discover The Laws And Apply Them, Not Inquire Into Their Provenance.

So How Can We Test The Idea That The Transition From Nonlife To Life Is Simple Enough To Happen Repeatedly? The Most Obvious And Straightforward Way Is To Search For A Second Form Of Life On Earth. No Planet Is More Earth-like Than Earth Itself, So If The Path To Life Is Easy, Then Life Should Have Started Up Many Times Over Right Here.

Wheeler Hopes That We Can Discover, Within The Context Of Physics, A Principle That Will Enable The Universe To Come Into Existence "of Its Own Accord." In His Search For Such A Theory, He Remarks: "no Guiding Principle Would Seem More Powerful Than The Requirement That It Should Provide The Universe With A Way To Come Into Being." Wheeler Likened This 'self-causing' Universe To A Self-excited Circuit In Electronics.

An Argument Often Given For Why Earth Couldn't Host Another Form Of Life Is That Once The Life We Know Became Established, It Would Have Eliminated Any Competition Through Natural Selection. But If Another Form Of Life Were Confined To Its Own Niche, There Would Be Little Direct Competition With Regular Life.

The Secret Of Our Success On Planet Earth Is Space. Lots Of It. Our Solar System Is A Tiny Island Of Activity In An Ocean Of Emptiness.