Video Review: The Privileged Planet

The anthropic principle is the idea that the universe has been "finely-tuned" to allow for life to occur. If any one of dozens of quantities (forces, quantities of elements, etc) were slightly different from what they are, complex life such as humans would not be possible. This is what "The Privileged Planet" is supposedly about. In fact, it takes the principle to another level.

Already, the argument is quite compelling. What are the chances of a universe capable of supporting life coming about through purely random circumstances? Slim-to-none doesn't even cover it. In fact the number, even though different people will give you different ones, is so infinitesimally small, it is essentially zero.

Let's tack on to that something new. It seems that some of the things that make the Earth and even the Universe perfect for human life are the same things that make it perfect for scientific discovery. These are the features that the makers of The Privileged Planet discuss.

One example is the transparency of our atmosphere. It allows visible light through and protects from most of the other radiation types, many of which are harmful. It allows us, even ancient astronomers, to look out and observe the Universe. Certain features of the solar system allow many asteroids to be blocked before reaching Earth. Our solar system's position in the Milky Way allows us to see out into the rest of the universe. (It is very close to a spiral arm, that if it were inside, all we would see is dust)

Check out the video, narrated by John Rhys-Davies on DVD. There are several nice bonus features. Some of the video is available on YouTube.