For Me, Science Is Already Fantastical Enough.

Wheeler Hopes That We Can Discover, Within The Context Of Physics, A Principle That Will Enable The Universe To Come Into Existence "of Its Own Accord." In His Search For Such A Theory, He Remarks: "no Guiding Principle Would Seem More Powerful Than The Requirement That It Should Provide The Universe With A Way To Come Into Being." Wheeler Likened This 'self-causing' Universe To A Self-excited Circuit In Electronics.

It Is Hard To Resist The Impression That The Present Structure Of The Universe, Apparently So Sensitive To Minor Alterations In Numbers, Has Been Rather Carefully Thought Out...the Seemingly Miraculous Concurrence Of These Numerical Values Must Remain The Most Compelling Evidence For Cosmic Design.

I Suppose My Interest In Looking For Life Elsewhere In The Universe Really Dates Back To My Teens. What Teenager Doesn't Look Up At The Sky At Night And Think Am I Alone In The Universe? Well Most People Get Over It, But I Never Did And Though I Made A Career More In Physics And Cosmology Than Astrobiology I've Always Had A Soft Spot For The Subject Of Life Because It Does Seem So Mysterious.

If We're Looking For Intelligence In The Universe I Think Everybody Assumes That This Has To Start With Life And So The Question Is: "how Likely Is It That There Will Be Life Elsewhere In The Universe?"

"are We Alone In The Universe?" This Is A Question Which Goes Back To The Dawn Of History, But For Most Of Human History It Has Been In The Province Of Religion And Philosophy. Fifty Or Something Years Ago, However, It Became Part Of Science.