{"id":2371,"date":"2019-02-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/the-goldilocks-principle-the-earth-is-designed-for-us-5653\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T14:12:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T19:12:08","slug":"the-goldilocks-principle-the-earth-is-designed-for-us-5653","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/the-goldilocks-principle-the-earth-is-designed-for-us-5653\/","title":{"rendered":"The Goldilocks Principle: The Earth Is Designed for Us"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Do you recall the story of Goldilocks from your youth? She struggled as she sought the right porridge, chair, and bed, but in the end, her discoveries were \u201cjust right.\u201d The Goldilocks Principle in secular cosmology is a recognition by scientists that the Earth appears to be \u201cjust right\u201d for life to exist on it. Leading science magazines routinely run articles updating their audiences on the hunt for other Goldilocks planets with just the right conditions for life to exist upon them as it does on Earth. The Earth appears to be designed for us.<\/p>\n<p>Atheistic philosopher Paul Ricci summed up the Teleological Argument for the Existence of God well when he said, \u201c[I]t\u2019s true that everything designed has a designer\u2026. \u2018Everything designed has a designer\u2019 is an analytically true statement.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\" name=\"_ednref1\">1<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\" name=\"_ednref1\"><\/a> There are an infinite number of examples of design that present themselves to us when we study the natural realm\u2014a problem for Ricci and his atheistic colleagues, to be sure. Manuel Canales, Matthew Chwastyk, and Eve Conant wrote an article in <em>National Geographic <\/em>titled \u201cOne Strange Rock: 13 Things that Make Life on Earth Possible.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn2\" name=\"_ednref2\">2<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn2\" name=\"_ednref2\"><\/a> \u201cEarth is well equipped as a planet and ideally placed in our solar system and galaxy to support life as we know it,\u201d they explain.<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn3\" name=\"_ednref3\">3<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn3\" name=\"_ednref3\"><\/a> What kinds of features make Earth so special?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>If the Earth\u2019s rotation axis was tilted differently\u2026<\/strong>: \u201cA change in the rotation axis of the Earth\u2026would be catastrophic. The number of the seasons would change and their duration. If the rotation axis became parallel to the orbital plane, as for Uranus, we could have winter in the Northern hemisphere for 6 months followed by summer. The Sun would set on the entire Northern hemisphere and not rise again for 6 months.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn4\" name=\"_ednref4\">4<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn4\" name=\"_ednref4\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>If the Earth was spinning faster\u2026<\/strong>: \u201cHurricanes will spin faster\u2026and there will be more energy in them.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn5\" name=\"_ednref5\">5<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn5\" name=\"_ednref5\"><\/a> A faster rotation speed by only 10% would translate to so much water bulging around the equator, that all equatorial land would be flooded while the sea level at the poles would lower.<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn6\" name=\"_ednref6\">6<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn6\" name=\"_ednref6\"><\/a> Human and animal life would be forced to live closer to the poles, which would result in catastrophic extinctions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>If the Earth\u2019s orbit was closer to the Sun\u2026<\/strong>: If the average distance from the Sun was \u201creduced by only about three-tenths of a percent,\u201d disastrous atmospheric changes would occur, including \u201csea-level rise, increases in extreme weather, species extinctions and agricultural disruptions.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn7\" name=\"_ednref7\">7<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn7\" name=\"_ednref7\"><\/a> As it makes its elliptical path around the Sun, the Earth bends from its straight course \u201conly one ninth of an inch\u201d every 18\u00bd miles.<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn8\" name=\"_ednref8\">8<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn8\" name=\"_ednref8\"><\/a> \u201cIf the orbit changed by <em>one-tenth<\/em> of an inch every 18 miles, our orbit would be vastly larger and we would all freeze to death. One-eighth of an inch? We would all be incinerated.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn9\" name=\"_ednref9\">9<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn9\" name=\"_ednref9\"><\/a> In fact, the Earth\u2019s perfect distance from the Sun is called the \u201cGoldilocks zone,\u201d \u201cwhere it\u2019s not too close and not too far from the sun for water to be liquid on its surface.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn10\" name=\"_ednref10\">10<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn10\" name=\"_ednref10\"><\/a> Earth\u2019s temperature is \u201cnot too hot or too cold.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn11\" name=\"_ednref11\">11<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn11\" name=\"_ednref11\"><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>If the Earth had less water\u2026<\/strong>: About 75% of the entire area of the Earth is covered by water. If there was less water on the Earth, it would suffer from the drastic temperature changes seen in deserts\u2014extremely hot during the day and extremely cold during the night. Most of the Earth does not have this problem, due in large part to the fact that the Earth has so much water on it. Water has a high specific heat capacity, which means that water can hold a lot of heat\u2014way more than almost any other natural substance on Earth. Water can store a lot of heat or lose a lot of heat without its temperature being drastically changed, causing it to act like an air conditioning unit for the Earth, keeping its temperature relatively constant. A different liquid other than water or less water would make Earth inhospitable for life.<\/li>\n<li><strong>If the Earth was like other planets<\/strong>\u2026: Citing the work of University of Washington\u2019s Peter Ward, Stanford University\u2019s Kate Maher, NASA\u2019s Karina Yager, and the University of Idaho\u2019s Jason Barnes, Canales and his colleagues highlighted that Earth \u201crecycles life-friendly carbon over time,\u201d has an \u201cozone layer to block harmful rays,\u201d \u201ca big moon to stabilize our axial wobble,\u201d \u201cvaried surfaces [to] support many life-forms,\u201d and a \u201cmagnetic field\u201d that \u201cdeflects solar tempests.\u201d Earth is \u201csituated safely away from gas giants\u201d\u2014if it were closer, their \u201cpowerful gravity could cause disastrous fluctuations in Earth\u2019s distance from the sun.\u201d The star of our solar system\u2014the Sun\u2014\u201cis a stable, long-lasting star,\u201d as opposed to less massive, allegedly younger stars that are \u201coften unstable and are prone to blasting their planets with bursts of radiation.\u201d Earth has \u201cthe right stuff to host a dynamic core\u201d (i.e., sufficient radioactive elements to generate a \u201cchurning core\u201d and protective magnetic field that could, theoretically, last for billions of years). Earth has \u201cgiant planets that protect us from afar,\u201d like Jupiter, whose size and gravity protect \u201cEarth from overly frequent collisions that might trigger extinctions.\u201d Zooming out further to the scale of the galaxy, we observe that \u201cour sun offers protection from galactic debris,\u201d \u201cour galactic path steers us clear of hazards,\u201d and \u201cour location is far from stellar crowds,\u201d reducing the \u201crisks to Earth from gravitational tugs, gamma-ray bursts, or collapsing stars called supernovae.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn12\" name=\"_ednref12\">12<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn12\" name=\"_ednref12\"><\/a> Truly Earth is just right for us\u2014<strong>as though it was made for humans<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Dozens of such examples could be illustrated.<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn13\" name=\"_ednref13\">13<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn13\" name=\"_ednref13\"><\/a> In the words of famous skeptic and science writer Michael Shermer, who has a monthly column in <em>Scientific American<\/em>, \u201cThe design inference comes naturally. The reason people think that a Designer created the world is because it <em>looks<\/em> designed.\u201d<sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn14\" name=\"_ednref14\">14<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn14\" name=\"_ednref14\"><\/a> Agreed.<\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Endnotes<\/h2>\n<div id=\"edn1\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\" name=\"_edn1\">1<\/a><\/sup> Paul Ricci (1986), <em>Fundamentals of Critical Thinking<\/em> (Lexington, MA: Ginn Press), p. 190.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn2\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref2\" name=\"_edn2\">2<\/a><\/sup> Manuel Canales, Matthew Chwastyk, and Eve Conant (2018), \u201cOne Strange Rock: 13 Things That Make Life on Earth Possible,\u201d <em>National Geographic<\/em>, 233[3]:78-87.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn3\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref3\" name=\"_edn3\">3<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref3\" name=\"_edn3\"><\/a> Ibid., p. 78.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn4\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref4\" name=\"_edn4\">4<\/a><\/sup> Sten Odenwald (no date), \u201cWhat Would Happen if the Rotation Axis of the Earth Changed?\u201d <em>NASA Image Education Center<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/image.gsfc.nasa.gov\/poetry\/ask\/q278.html\">https:\/\/image.gsfc.nasa.gov\/poetry\/ask\/q278.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn5\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref5\" name=\"_edn5\">5<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref5\" name=\"_edn5\"><\/a> Sarah Fecht (2017), \u201cWhat Would Happen if Earth Started to Spin Faster?\u201d <em>Popular Science<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/earth-spin-faster\">https:\/\/www.popsci.com\/earth-spin-faster<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn6\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref6\" name=\"_edn6\">6<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref6\" name=\"_edn6\"><\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn7\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref7\" name=\"_edn7\">7<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref7\" name=\"_edn7\"><\/a> Victoria Roberts (2017), \u201cEven Tiny Changes in Earth\u2019s Orbit Would Yield Global Catastrophe,\u201d <em>The New York Times<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/07\/24\/science\/earth-orbit-sun-catastrophe.html\">https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/07\/24\/science\/earth-orbit-sun-catastrophe.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn8\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref8\" name=\"_edn8\">8<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref8\" name=\"_edn8\"><\/a> David Peck Todd (1906), <em>A New Astronomy<\/em> (New York: American Book Company), p. 383.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn9\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref9\" name=\"_edn9\">9<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref9\" name=\"_edn9\"><\/a> \u201cEveryday Science\u201d (1981), <em>Science Digest<\/em>, 89[1]:124.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn10\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref10\" name=\"_edn10\">10<\/a><\/sup> Canales, et al., p. 81; cf. J.R. Minkel (2007), \u201cAll Wet? Astronomers Claim Discovery of Earth-like Planet,\u201d <em>Scientific American<\/em>, April 24, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/all-wet-astronomers-claim\/\">https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/all-wet-astronomers-claim\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn11\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref11\" name=\"_edn11\">11<\/a><\/sup> Canales, et al., p. 81.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn12\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref12\" name=\"_edn12\">12<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref12\" name=\"_edn12\"><\/a> Canales, et al.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn13\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref13\" name=\"_edn13\">13<\/a><\/sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref13\" name=\"_edn13\"><\/a> See the various \u201cDesign\u201d topics in the \u201cExistence of God\u201d category on the Apologetics Press website\u2014www.apologeticspress.org.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"edn14\">\n<p><sup><a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref14\" name=\"_edn14\">14<\/a><\/sup> Michael Shermer (2007), <em>Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design<\/em> (New York, NY: Henry Holt), Kindle edition, p. 65, ital. in orig.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you recall the story of Goldilocks from your youth? She struggled as she sought the right porridge, chair, and bed, but in the end, her discoveries were \u201cjust right.\u201d The Goldilocks Principle in secular cosmology is a recognition by scientists that the Earth appears to be \u201cjust right\u201d for life to exist on it&#8230;. <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/the-goldilocks-principle-the-earth-is-designed-for-us-5653\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,55,12],"tags":[],"kids-category":[],"people":[286],"bible-book":[],"language":[168],"age-group":[172,173],"publication":[248],"class_list":["post-2371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creation-vs-evolution","category-design-in-the-universe","category-existence-of-god","people-jeff-miller-phd","language-english","age-group-teens","age-group-adults","publication-reason-revelation"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/The-Goldilocks-Principle-The-Earth-is-Designed-for-Us-JM-02.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2371"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37776,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2371\/revisions\/37776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2371"},{"taxonomy":"kids-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kids-category?post=2371"},{"taxonomy":"people","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/people?post=2371"},{"taxonomy":"bible-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible-book?post=2371"},{"taxonomy":"language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/language?post=2371"},{"taxonomy":"age-group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/age-group?post=2371"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apologeticspress.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=2371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}