Weak Anthropic Principle arguments are total BS. They explain nothing.

The WAP is quite useful; it refutes the fine-tuning argument (and other claims of the involvement of some god in ostensibly low-probability events, as I explained above).

I* certainly do not think that the WAP explains why Juliane survived, nor do I think that it explains why the universe has the particular properties we observe; it does, however, show why it is not reasonable to infer any god’s involvement in these matters (on the basis of probability alone, anyhow). If such a tool is of no use to you, by all means ignore it, but it is hardly BS.

* I only addressed the AP at all to correct a misrepresentation in a previous comment.

“Miracle” is often used to mean “something we’re glad happened” I remember when Oprah had those miners who survived that 2003 accident on her show. There was a short clip at the beginning that explained exactly how the miners were rescued. No mention of God interveinig in the clip, training and hard work saved the miners. Yet the word “miracle” was thrown about at least a hundred times later in the show.

Weak Anthropic Principle arguments are total BS. They explain nothing.

A Survival Story with a Logical Survivor

I think you mean rational survivor (as you correctly noted in the body of the post).

The anthropic principle: she survived because otherwise she would have been unable to explain why she’d survived.

This is a misrepresentation of the Anthropic Principle. In this context, the analogy would go:

Theist: Do you know how unlikely it is for someone to survive such an incident? Her survival must have been orchestrated by a god!

Rationalist: The a priori probability of an event is irrelevant when discussing an event that has already transpired; however small the odds that this event might occur, we see that it has occurred. This does not imply any sort of god.

At least, this is the AP as Hawking described it in A Brief History of Time; the term seems to have been extended to all manner of ideas, including use an alternate name for the theist’s fine tuning argument. As I learned it, the AP countered the fine-tuning argument.

Great story, but unfortunately ‘miracle’ does come up in the text

True, but in context that seems used more as common English idiom as opposed to a weighted use intimating supernatural intervention. If I were on a plane crashing I’d probably scream out “Holy Shit!” and even though I’d probably shit my pants at the same time, there would be nothing holy about it.

Right Wing….seems it was a “sign” to me…lol

It’s amazing that she survived not just the crash but several days in the jungle with infected, parasite infested wounds, the odds were definitely not in her favor. Most girls the age she was at the time wouldn’t have had either the skills or the presence of mind to be able to survive for those 10 days. That’s she’s also a rational thinker impresses me just that much more.