ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

Paul Davies's question "why is the universe just right for life?" is misconceived. The Earth has been suited to the maintenance of life for several billion years. But all its multifarious life forms seem to have a common ancestry and apparently it was only once in all those billions of years that life emerged from inanimate matter, despite the suitable conditions.

In the rest of the Universe, those suitable conditions exist on a minuscule fraction of the solid bodies that abound. On those few, that rare chance that led to life on Earth may well not have occurred and may never do so. The Universe is constructed so as to make life very nearly impossible.

If any being designed the Universe, the creation of life was well down his list of priorities. He may even have intended to make life completely impossible - but, then, no one is perfect.

Anthony Matthew
Leicester