Science and Culture Today Discovering Design in Nature
Topic

Bayesian reasoning

abandoned-cabin-in-dark-forest-stockpack-adobe-stock-1939997714-stockpack-adobestock
Abandoned cabin in dark forest.
Image Credit: Jurdi - Adobe Stock

Using the Logic of Surprise to Infer Cosmic Design

On a hike, you stumble upon a seemingly abandoned cabin in the woods. When you walk in, you notice a steaming cup of tea sitting on the table. Read More ›
rcw86-xray-ixpe-optical-f2bd3a
Photo: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-NEWTON, IXPE:NASA/MSFC; Optical: NSF/NOIRLab; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt.

The Objective Probability of the Fine-Tuning Evidence

Science and philosophy aim to explain aspects of the world and of our experience, and both offer judgments about what is correct or incorrect. Read More ›
NorthpoleofMercury--NASA
Photo: Mercury's north pole, by NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Bayesian Methodology and the Fine-Tuning Argument

To use Clark Glymour’s example, Einstein's general theory of relativity explained the anomalous precession of Mercury's perihelion. Read More ›
Uranus
Photo credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, STScI, P. Tiranti, H. Melin, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb).

Fine-Tuning and the Infinite Multiverse

An endless multiverse is a context in which every outcome occurs infinitely many times, rendering calculations of probability ill-defined. Read More ›
hubble-ngc7722-potm2601b
Photo credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. J. Foley (UC Santa Cruz), Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA; Acknowledgment: Mehmet Yüksek.

Framing a Finely Tuned Response to a Chorus of Critical “Carrollers”

Using Sean Carroll’s criticisms of the fine-tuning argument as a general guide, I propose to address objections to that argument. Read More ›
full-res-for-display-1
Photo credit: NASA, ESA, Bruce Balick (UWashington).

The Fine-Tuning Argument and Its Cultured Despisers

Carroll is a prolific physicist and cosmologist who has been a prominent popularizer of science. Read More ›
sperm-closing-in-on-egg-stockpack-adobe-stock-17617706-stockpack-adobestock
Image Credit: Joshua Resnick - Adobe Stock

Sexual Reproduction: Engineered for Success

I continue a three-part discussion with Dr. Jonathan McLatchie on why sex is the queen of problems for evolutionary theory. Read More ›
hubble-ngc4388-potw2550a
Photo credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Veilleux, J. Wang, J. Greene.

New Peer-Reviewed Paper Defends Cosmic Fine-Tuning Argument

Fumagalli does not in the end state whether he himself lands on the multiverse hypothesis, cosmic design, or unknown physics as the best explanation. Read More ›
person-is-looking-for-way-out-of-psychedelic-maze-a-surreal-581529726-stockpack-adobestock
Person is looking for way out of psychedelic maze. A surreal labyrinth in magical forest. Human consciousness is at dead end, searching for solutions. Created with Generative AI
Image Credit: Lazy_Bear - Adobe Stock

Does Quantum Mechanics Help Make Sense of the Soul?

Quantum mechanics seems to be the game-changer that Albert Einstein (1879–1955) feared it would be. It is certain to liven up discussions about the soul. Read More ›
woman-walking-through-the-universe-stockpack-adobe-stock-337670653-stockpack-adobestock
Woman walking through the universe
Image Credit: quickshooting - Adobe Stock

Skeptic Michael Shermer’s Non-Vision of the Soul

Responding to Michael Egnor at COSM 2025, he said that the soul is an explanation but not a good explanation for our relationship to our bodies. Read More ›

© Discovery Institute