{"id":90022,"date":"2021-01-24T16:42:42","date_gmt":"2021-01-24T23:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=90022"},"modified":"2021-01-24T17:19:45","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T00:19:45","slug":"cosmic-conundrum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2021\/01\/cosmic-conundrum.html","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Cosmic Conundrum&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_34274\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34274\" style=\"width: 533px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/06\/NASA-WMAP-first-stars.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-34274\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/06\/NASA-WMAP-first-stars.jpg\" alt=\"Earliest stars 400 million years post Big Bang\" width=\"533\" height=\"300\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34274\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A NASA simulation of the first stars, about 400 million years after the Big Bang<br>(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Okay.\u00a0 If I havn\u2019t been clear enough <em>yet<\/em>, let me make it unmistakably plain <em>now<\/em>:\u00a0 I believe that, consonant with advice from their physicians (in some marginal cases), as many people as possible should seek out and receive one of the vaccines that have been or will yet be approved for use against the novel coronavirus.\u00a0 And I intend to beat the drum to that end.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I want to get the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, so that our economy can revive, theaters and restaurants can return to normal, religious congregations can meet, and \u2014 very importantly \u2014 the temples can fully reopen.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So don\u2019t be surprised if I use this space fairly frequently over the next few weeks and months to exhort people to continue maintaining \u201csocial distance,\u201d scrubbing their hands, and wearing masks, and to encourage them to be vaccinated against COVID-19.\u00a0 Anc please don\u2019t become angry.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few relevant links for now, the first five of them from roughly ten to fifteen days ago:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/01\/12\/health\/moderna-covid-vaccine-protection\/index.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cModerna thinks its vaccine will protect against the coronavirus for at least a year\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/utah\/2021\/1\/13\/22229080\/coronavirus-vaccination-efforts-ongoing-daily-covid-19-cases-deaths-rise-children-hospitalization\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cPeople are 52% immune after first COVID-19 vaccine dose, doctor says\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/u-s-world\/2021\/1\/12\/22226796\/coronavirus-flu-measures-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR3UrDh8YvF0QIqQKr_dan6J6mJdQGYO414dEvulxlF7-yUHkkouFA0GYxQ\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cThe U.S. is seeing record low flu cases because of COVID-19 measures, CDC says: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported there\u2019s been a massive decrease in flu cases this year\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/utah\/2021\/1\/15\/22233053\/coronavirus-fast-spreading-covid-19-variant-uk-has-arrived-in-utah-vaccine-reserve\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cFast-spreading COVID-19 variant has arrived in Utah: Salt Lake County man has \u2018U.K. variant,\u2019 state confirms\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/01\/14\/health\/us-coronavirus-thursday\/index.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cMore than 90,000 Americans could die of Covid-19 in next three weeks, CDC forecast shows\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/utah\/2021\/1\/23\/22245923\/covid-19-transmission-still-widespread-in-utah-though-fewer-people-are-hospitalized\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201c\u2018Local health departments have stepped up in a big way,\u2019 Cox says of COVID-19 vaccinations: 7% of Utahns have received at least one vaccine dose\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For those who can access the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-new-covid-19-testing-rules-for-travel-to-the-u-s-what-they-mean-for-you-11610566341?mod=trending_now_pos3\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cA Guide to the New Covid-19 Testing Rules for Travel to the U.S.: The CDC will require preflight testing as Covid-19 cases continue to soar and new strains of the virus emerge\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechurchnews.com\/leaders-and-ministry\/2021-01-19\/church-leaders-vaccinated-president-nelson-first-presidency-202151\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cSenior Church leaders receive COVID-19 vaccine, encourage members to safeguard themselves, others \u2018through immunization\u2019\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/opinion\/2021\/1\/23\/22239337\/vaccination-covid-19-mormon-latter-day-saints-pope-coronavirus-health-care-angela-dunn\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cInside the newsroom: Can the example of others convince you to get a vaccination? There is work to be done to build herd immunity\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/01\/22\/health\/face-mask-n95-coronavirus-transmission\/index.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cThe face mask that could end the pandemic\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From<em> Scientific American<\/em>:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/the-second-generation-covid-vaccines-are-coming\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cThe Second-Generation COVID Vaccines Are Coming: After Pfizer and Moderna, a slew of other candidates could fill gaps in efficacy, production\u00a0or distribution\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From the <em>The Economist<\/em> (and I hope that you can access it), a very helpful brief history of vaccination:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/graphic-detail\/2021\/01\/23\/the-smallpox-vaccine-took-decades-to-bear-fruit\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201c<span class=\"article__headline\" data-test-id=\"Article Headline\">The smallpox vaccine took decades to bear fruit\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Also from <em>The Economist<\/em> (and I hope that Utah and other health officials will read it):<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/united-states\/2021\/01\/23\/americas-vaccination-roll-out-will-improve-with-practice\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201c<span class=\"article__headline\" data-test-id=\"Article Headline\">America\u2019s vaccination roll-out will improve with practice:\u00a0<\/span>How one large medical system used 100% of doses made available to it\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But maybe we\u2019ll just allow the pandemic to continue, destroying our economy and preventing the temples from opening up and giving it more time and more opportunities to mutate so that it can kill more people:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/utah\/2021\/1\/21\/22240851\/covid-19-coronavirus-vaccine-utah-poll\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cPoll finds more Utahns willing to get COVID-19 vaccine, but is it enough?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But let\u2019s change the subject and the mood:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>CNN:\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/01\/15\/world\/milky-way-star-stream-scn\/index.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cA stream of nearly 500 stars in the Milky Way is actually a family\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Scientific American<\/em>:\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/why-do-we-assume-extraterrestrials-might-want-to-visit-us\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cWhy Do We Assume Extraterrestrials Might Want to Visit Us? The idea presumes we\u2019re inherently fascinating, but that\u2019s not necessarily the case\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_44901\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-44901\" style=\"width: 597px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/11\/Einstein_letter-5.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-44901\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/11\/Einstein_letter-5.jpg\" alt=\"Einstein, Hubble, and others atop Mount Wilson\" width=\"597\" height=\"743\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-44901\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left to right: Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, Walther Mayer, Walter S. Adams, Arthur S. King, and William W. Campbell pose in front of the 100-inch telescope dome at Mount Wilson Observatory on 29 January 1931 (The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens). I looked up at Mount Wilson and its broadcast facilities and observatories every day while growing up in San Gabriel, California<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From the current issue:\u00a0 Clara Moskowitz, \u201cCosmic Conundrum: The strangely small value of the cosmological constant is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in physics,\u201d <em>Scientific American<\/em>\u00a0324\/2 (February 2021): 24-29:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Quantum theory and experiments with particle accelerators both suggest that the universe is filled with \u201cvacuum energy\u201d \u2014 which is most likely connected with the mysterious \u201cdark energy\u201d \u2014 that pushes outward on space itself.\u00a0 It\u2019s the reason that the universe is expanding, and not only expanding but doing so at a faster and faster rate.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But quantum theory predicts an enormous <em>amount<\/em> of vacuum energy, enough to have ensured that no stars or galaxies ever formed.\u00a0 Clearly, then, the value of vacuum energy is much lower \u2014 roughly 120 orders of <em>magnitude<\/em> lower \u2014 than what was predicted.\u00a0 Accordingly, some scientists have labeled vacuum energy \u201cthe worst theoretical prediction in the history of physics.\u201d\u00a0 Or, as Antonio Padilla, a physicist at the University of Nottingham has said, \u201cIt\u2019s generally regarded as one of the most awkward, embarrassing, difficult problems in theoretical physics today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And it has ramifications.\u00a0 For example, vacuum energy is thought to be the main ingredient in the \u201ccosmological constant,\u201d a mathematical term that looms large in the equations of general relativity.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the cosmological constant itself has a complex history.\u00a0 \u201cIt was what you could call a nonsolution to a nonproblem,\u201d says Rafael Sorkin, of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Ontario, Canada.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Albert Einstein invented in 1917 as a mathematical \u201ckludge\u201d in order to ensure that the field equations of his theory of general relativity didn\u2019t entail an expanding universe.\u00a0 But then, in 1929, Edwin Hubble discovered astronomical evidence that, in fact, the universe <em>is<\/em> expanding.\u00a0 According to the late physicist George Gamow, Einstein eventually described the cosmological constant as \u201cmy biggest blunder\u201d and removed it from his equations.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But then, in the late 1990s, two teams of astronomers were able to show that the expansion of the universe was speeding up, and they suggested that this acceleration was caused by \u201cdark energy,\u201d which, in turn, might have its source in the cosmological constant or \u201cvacuum energy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the value of the constant seemed to be wrong.\u00a0 And the question arose of exactly <em>why<\/em> it is precisely what it is.\u00a0 \u201cIts value is very weird,\u201d says Katherine Freese, a theoretical physicist at the University of Texas at Austin.\u00a0 \u201cEven weirder than zero.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Nobel laureate Wolfgang Pauli noticed the problem already in the 1920s.\u00a0 By his calculations, vacuum energy should be so strong that the cosmos would have long since expanded to the point where light could not traverse the distances between of the objects within it.\u00a0 An observer on Earth, he calculated, should not be able to see even the Moon.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Of course, some physicists \u2014 notably the theoretical physicist Sabine Hosenfelder of Germany\u2019s Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies \u2014 say that there\u2019s no problem.\u00a0 It just is what it is, and that\u2019s all.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But many scientists remain quite unsatisfied by such responses to the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>One of the most prominent \u2014 and, by some, most hated \u2014 solutions to the cosmological problem is called the anthropic principle.\u00a0 This line of thinking agrees that the cosmological constant in our universe has an unlikely value but explains it by saying we live in a multiverse.\u00a0 If ours is just one bubble in a cosmic sea, with different physical laws and constants in each, then there was bound to be one with this value.\u00a0 Most of the others would not lead to a universe with galaxies, stars, planets or life, so the fact that we find ourselves in one of the outliers is only to be expected.\u00a0 Because string theory requires a multiverse, string theorists tend to regard the cosmological constant problem as essentially solved by this reasoning.\u00a0 Other physicists, though, consider this philosophy a cop-out.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s giving up on the problem,\u201d Sorkin says.<\/strong>\u00a0 (28)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I found it amusing to see Sorkin\u2019s response, considering that philosophers and scientists who hypothesize that the life-permitting values of the various cosmic constants reflect some sort of \u201cfine-tuning\u201d are themselves often accused of \u201ccopping out\u201d and of having \u201cabandoned science.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>\u201cWe\u2019ll keep trying,\u201d [New York University\u2019s Gregory] Gabadadze says of attempts to test cosmological constant hypotheses with experiments. . . .\u00a0 Despite the difficulty of the puzzle, he and other physicists still hope for a solution soon.\u00a0 Perhaps these efforts to understand the cosmological constant problem will reveal deeper truths about quantum physics and general relativity.\u00a0 Or maybe scientists will discover a simpler fix.\u00a0 And even while they\u2019re seeking a solution that may never materialize, many physicists revel in the quest.<\/strong>\u00a0 (29)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 If I havn\u2019t been clear enough yet, let me make it unmistakably plain now:\u00a0 I believe that, consonant with advice from their physicians (in some marginal cases), as many people as possible should seek out and receive one of the vaccines that have been or will yet be approved for use against [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[19472,548,1821,1266,8031,17759,1137,71,8307,15541,13514,9108,21150,5811,12944,132,12953,422,11767,10127,545,6891,3814,6657,21153,3886,5286,21147,21144,17093,16784,404,15538,3880,1215,20332,4267,8514,10130,11714,17939,21156],"class_list":["post-90022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-albert-einstein","tag-anthropic-principle","tag-apostle","tag-apostles","tag-coronavirus","tag-cosmic-anthropic-principle","tag-cosmological-constant","tag-cosmology","tag-cosmos","tag-council-of-the-twelve","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-dallin-h-oaks","tag-dallin-oaks","tag-edwin-hubble","tag-einstein","tag-expanding","tag-expanding-universe","tag-expansion","tag-fine-tuned","tag-fine-tuning","tag-first-presidency","tag-hubble","tag-m-russell-ballard","tag-oaks","tag-pauli","tag-president","tag-president-ballard","tag-president-nelson","tag-quantum-mechanics","tag-quantum-physics","tag-quantum-theory","tag-quorum-of-the-twelve","tag-russell-ballard","tag-russell-m-nelson","tag-russell-marion-nelson","tag-russell-nelson","tag-twelve","tag-universe","tag-vaccine","tag-vaccines","tag-wolfgang-pauli"],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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