By recurring to Geometric Probability methods it is shown that the coupling constants, αEM , αW , αC , associated with the electromagnetic, weak and strong (color) force are given by the ratios of measures of the sphere S and the Shilov boundaries Q3 =S 2 ×RP , squashed S, respectively, with respect to the Wyler measure ΩWyler[Q4] of the Shilov boundary Q4 =S ×RP 1 of the poly-disc D4 (8 real d...

We review some basic flux vacua counting techniques and results, focusing on the distributions of properties over different regions of the landscape of string vacua and assessing the phenomenological implications. The topics we discuss include: an overview of how moduli are stabilized and how vacua are counted; the applicability of effective field theory; the uses of and differences between pro...

Evolutionary medicine in its classical form assumes that since cultural evolution is faster than biological evolution, ailments of modern people are a result of mismatch between adaptations to the past environments and current situations. A core principle is that we, humans, having evolved for millions of years in a specific natural environment (environment of evolutionary adaptation EEA) are b...

The problem of making predictions from theories that have landscapes of possible low energy parameters is reviewed. Conditions for such a theory to yield falsifiable predictions for doable experiments are given. It is shown that the hypothesis of cosmological natural selection satisfies these conditions, thus showing that it is possible to continue to do physics on a landscape without invoking ...

Abstract: The anthropic fine-tuning of the cosmos refers to the claim that the laws of nature, the constants of physics, and the initial conditions of the universe must be set to an enormous degree of precision for life to exist. Three major responses have been offered to this fine-tuning: the multiverse explanation; theism; and the claim that it is just a brute fact that requires no further ex...

The order and harmony of the universe could be much more easily reconciled with the iniquity of nature (incomprehensible natural calamities) if we were to accept without thought that the universe is accidental and not something responding to a deliberate creative project. The exercise of free will, however, is possible only in the presence of a certain measure of indeterminacy, and this necessa...

This review attempts to summarize recent progress in cosmology, and outline some of the main open questions for the forthcoming decade. Following the year-3 WMAP results, the basic ΛCDM model seems better established than ever, with the exciting addition of a rejection of the n = 1 scale-invariant spectrum. It is argued that this alone is insufficient to constitute proof that inflation occurred...

The standard model of particle physics contains Ngen = 3 generations of quarks and leptons, i.e., two sets of three particles in each sector, with the two sets differing by 1 unit of charge in each. All 12 “predicted” particles are now experimentally accounted for, and there are strong (though not air-tight) arguments that there are no more than three generations. The question is: why exactly N...