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The universe seems suspiciously hospitable to life. If you tweaked the strength of its forces or the amount of matter and energy, life most likely couldn’t exist. But why are the laws of physics so convenient for us? Were they ultimately created by a designer?
These were questions Stephen Hawking set out to answer in collaboration with physicist Thomas Hertog in 1998. And after working on the problem for two decades, they eventually managed to find an answer, Hertog explains in an article.
The theory is based on the strange rules of quantum mechanics, which rule nature on the scale of atoms and particles. It also takes the perspective of an observer existing within the universe, rather than outside it – as physical theories usually do. By using this approach and looking backwards in time, Hertog and Hawking discovered that the laws of physics could actually have changed and evolved randomly over time – no need for a designer.
Meanwhile, research suggests that judge-only rape trials – as being proposed in Scotland – won’t necessarily boost conviction rates. And interviews conducted with red-wall voters show they want more than tough talk and flag waving – the Labour party should take note.
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Miriam Frankel
Science Editor
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Hawking and the author.
Photograph: Thomas Hertog and Jonathan Wood
Thomas Hertog, KU Leuven
The enigma at the centre of our 20-year collaboration was how the Big Bang could have created conditions so perfectly hospitable to life
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Shutterstock
Lee John Curley, The Open University; James Munro, The Open University
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Keir Starmer talks to children in Scunthorpe.
Alamy/PA/Stefan Rousseau
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