Do you recognize the number 1/137.035999206? It might seem arbitrary, but if the fine structure constant were any higher or lower than it is, you might not exist! On a classic episode of ID the Future, host Brian Miller kicks off an engaging conversation with Rabbi Elie Feder and Rabbi Aaron Zimmer, hosts of the Physics to God podcast. Feder has a PhD in mathematics and has published articles on graph theory. Zimmer has training in physics, and has studied mathematics, philosophy, and psychology. Both men also have extensive rabbinical training. Through their podcast, Feder and Zimmer invite both secular and religious listeners on a journey through modern physics as they offer rational arguments for an intelligent cause of the universe.
In Part 1 of a two-part discussion, Feder and Zimmer share their background and the inspiration for their podcast. They also explain their focus on the constants of physics — specific numbers and values built into the laws of nature that are the same everywhere. What do these numbers mean? How are they measured? Why are they important? Do they hint at design, or are they “magic numbers that come to us with no understanding,” as noted physicist Richard Feynman has put it? A physicist himself, Miller is the perfect host to unpack the efforts of Feder and Zimmer. It’s time to get more intimately acquainted with the strange and wonderful numbers that hold our universe together! Download the podcast or listen to it here.
Dig Deeper
- Check out more from the Physics to God podcast!
- Related: Stephen Meyer explains why the universe is “just right” for life to exist and flourish: