Enlightenment, Knowledge, Ignorance, Temptation

TL;DR

This paper explores how reasoning about fundamental physics and cosmology can be enhanced by combining selection effects with symmetry and dynamics arguments, emphasizing their complementary roles.

Contribution

It introduces a framework integrating selection effects with symmetry and dynamics reasoning in fundamental physics and cosmology.

Findings

Selection effects can complement symmetry and dynamics in reasoning about physics.

Combining different reasoning methods enriches understanding of cosmological parameters.

Selection effects should be used alongside traditional physics arguments, not replace them.

Abstract

I discuss the historical and conceptual roots of reasoning about the parameters of fundamental physics and cosmology based on selection effects. I argue concretely that such reasoning can and should be combined with arguments based on symmetry and dynamics; it supplements them, but does not replace them.