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Old 04-25-2003, 11:44 AM   #1
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Default 'Gosh' numbers

Ran across this concept while reading Pohl's Gateway series. Wanted to know what you all think.

Basically, numbers that crop up again and again in nature with little or no reason for doing so. .5 degrees is the angular diamater of the moon and the sun as seen from earth. If it weren't, we wouldn't have eclipses. -40 degrees is the same in celcius and fahrenheit. The fine structure constant. Lots of others, better examples that I can't think of right now.

Know any others? Think there's any significance here? Or is it just man projecting order and intention onto the universe where none exists?
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Old 04-25-2003, 11:52 AM   #2
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Default Re: 'Gosh' numbers

Quote:
Originally posted by elwoodblues
-40 degrees is the same in celcius and fahrenheit.
Well the two temperature scales are made up anyway, so realizing that two lines of different slopes cross at some point is not really a "gosh" moment.

And what is your interest in the fine structure constant?

But certainly, the Moon and the Sun being virtually the same angular scale at this point in time is quite a remarkable coincidence!
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Old 04-25-2003, 11:55 AM   #3
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It is just a sheer coincidence that the angular size of the moon is the same as the sun, but it's only going to be true in this current epoch. In about a million years, the moon'll have moved out far enough that the angular size will be smaller, not to mention the red giant phase of the sun some billions of years in the future.

About the temperature scales, it's not surprising either, there has to be at least one number which is represented the same on both scales.

As for the fine structure constant, it is indeed puzzling how finely tuned it is. But remember it's from our own perspective, from a multiverse perspective, it's not so surprising. Maybe it's the same from other theoretical viewpoints.
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Old 04-25-2003, 11:55 AM   #4
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Wink Re: Re: 'Gosh' numbers

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Originally posted by Shadowy Man
But certainly, the Moon and the Sun being virtually the same angular scale at this point in time is quite a remarkable coincidence!
What are the chances? God must exist!
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Old 04-25-2003, 11:58 AM   #5
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Preliminary indications show that pi is a "normal number." What that means is that all non-negative integers of a particular length are found in pi with equal likelihood. What that implies is that you can find any encoded message you want in pi.
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Old 04-25-2003, 12:15 PM   #6
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The temp scales and angular diamater things were, IMO, bad examples. There are other ones, and the fine structure constant is the real deal. 137 I know just enough about physics to be seriously disturbed by the last equation.
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Old 04-25-2003, 01:05 PM   #7
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elwoodblues:

Looks like numerology to me. Whiz bang!
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Old 04-25-2003, 05:47 PM   #8
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That last equation (Log_subn a = e(pi*n)) is speculation. The author seems to have pulled that out of a magic hat. What if? Well, why that particular equation first off? Is there a desire to shoehorn the fine structure constant into something like the equation e(i*pi) + 1 = 0?
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Old 04-25-2003, 07:10 PM   #9
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What about that Fibbinochi whatchamacall it sequence? Some one remember that?
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Old 04-26-2003, 05:21 AM   #10
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The fact that the Sun and the Moon have the same angular diameter, more or less, may be partly responsible for man's religious bent. It has often been theorized that belief in deities, and in a life after death, would be a positive natural selection to a prehistoric man. The "Shock and Awe" of an eclipse may have helped reinforce these beliefs.
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