Eric Hedin
Muncie
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Articles by Eric Hedin
Conservation Laws and Life: If It Looks Designed, It Is
Last year, I wrote a series of articles on the four fundamental forces of nature, highlighting the fine-tuning of each force as a necessary feature of our universe to support life as we know it. In addition to this complete suite of forces, the physical nature of things is governed by other principles that comprise essential characteristics of our universe. These principles are the conservation laws of nature. Without them, life could not exist.
Science Suggests Matter and Meaning Are Both Real
Watch Episode Episode 2271 With Andrew McDiarmid Guest(s) Eric Hedin Duration 00:28:23 Download Audio File (64.9 mb) Share Facebook Twitter/X LinkedIn Flipboard Print https://op3.dev/e/idthefuture.com/podcast-player/44359/2271.mp3 Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:28:23 | What is the story of everything? Is there a scientific and philosophical basis for meaning?
A Designed Universe Makes Meaning Real, Not Illusory
Episode 2270 With Andrew McDiarmid Guest(s) Eric Hedin Duration 00:31:59 Download Audio File (73.2 mb) Share Facebook Twitter/X LinkedIn Flipboard Print https://op3.dev/e/idthefuture.com/podcast-player/44354/2270.mp3 Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:31:59 | Why are we here? Does life, or the universe, mean anything? And if it does, what? Today on ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid explores those questions and more with physicist and author Dr. Eric Hedin.
A Designed Universe Makes Meaning Real, Not Illusory
Watch Episode Episode 2270 With Andrew McDiarmid Guest(s) Eric Hedin Duration 00:31:59 Download Audio File (73.2 mb) Share Facebook Twitter/X LinkedIn Flipboard Print https://op3.dev/e/idthefuture.com/podcast-player/44354/2270.mp3 Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:31:59 | Why are we here? Does life, or the universe, mean anything? And if it does, what? Today on ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid explores those questions and more with physicist and author Dr. Eric Hedin.
Fine-Tuning — for the Universe or for Life? A Physicist Exercises His Imagination
In a recent article at IAI News, technological physicist Jeff Shainline proposes a preposterous new theory that attempts to “resolve” anthropic fine-tuning by rolling it together with cosmological Darwinism and a twist of The Privileged Planet gone universal.
The Marvel of a Seed — Applications for Intelligent Design
A few years ago, an article I wrote about the intelligently designed properties of seeds focused on their multicellular complexity and potent reproducibility, far beyond the most advanced human biotechnology. To claim that researchers in synthetic biochemistry have no idea how to form even a single cell out of prebiotic materials, let alone the complex interactions of many cells within a seed, is no exaggeration. Here, I would like to explore the implications of growth imbedded within a seed.
Sleeping and Waking, By Design
Are we to credit an unguided evolutionary process for the gift of sleeping and waking? Or are these intricate systems further evidence of design? On this ID The Future selected out of the archive, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with Dr. Eric Hedin on the intelligent design of sleep. In Part 2, the pair dig deeper into the purpose of sleep and why it’s so essential to living organisms.
New Light on Dark Energy Points to Our Privileged Space
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has just completed a five-year survey of over 47 million galaxies and quasars, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which manages this multinational endeavor. Analysis of the vast dataset from DESI’s observations has yielded some surprises regarding dark energy. DESI’s preliminary results, reported in spring 2025, give a first indication that dark energy may not be constant after all.
The Delicate Balance of Dark Energy
One of the most amazing accomplishments in humanity’s quest for scientific understanding has been our success in comprehending the origin and subsequent unfolding of the entire observable universe. Even though humans have lived under the “starry heavens” since our earliest days, scientific comprehension of the universe lingered beyond our reach until the last century.
The Intelligent Design of Sleep
Episode 2249 With Andrew McDiarmid Guest(s) Eric Hedin Duration 00:21:39 Download Audio File (29.7 mb) Share Facebook Twitter/X LinkedIn Flipboard Print https://op3.dev/e/idthefuture.com/podcast-player/44186/2249.mp3 Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:21:39 | We’re asleep an average of about 26 years of our life! Most people have a sense that sleep is important, but many of us aren’t sure exactly why. Why is sleep so crucial to survival?
In Defiance of Evolution, Life Is an Idea
Anything that is intentionally made starts with an idea. Leonardo da Vinci affirmed the primacy of mind over making: In fact, whatever exists in the universe, in essence, in appearance, in the imagination, the painter has first in his mind and then in his hands… Consider one who desires to build a house. He never starts with a list of materials: 27,480 nails; 18,500 board feet of lumber; 3,200 feet of electrical wire, etc.
Cellular Design: More than Information, It Is the Manifestation of an Idea
Recently I enjoyed an interesting conversation with a friend who shared an idea for why digital media presented on LED screens may not look as “real” as images on old fashioned photographic film. The idea touched on the observation that nature is primarily made of objects that are rounded or circular in cross-section. In contrast, LED screens utilize a matrix of square pixels to generate an image from suitably formatted digital information.
When the Experts Disagree on the Origin of the Universe…
So, where do we stand with respect to the science of the origin of the universe, and what implications can we draw from it?
New Physics Is Always Tentative; Here’s Why
In proposing new theories in physics, as in other fields, a scientist needs to maintain a posture of humility about the validity of any proposal until observational and experimental evidence clearly confirms it. One simple reason for this is that the universe isn’t subject to our beliefs or suppositions — it is what it is, not necessarily what we think it is. On occasion, a new theory turns out to match reality, but that is not always the case.
Why Meaning Overcomes the Materialist View
One way to ascertain that the materialistic worldview falls short is that it fails to describe the world we experience. In the materialistic view, the universe is reduced to particles of matter and the forces between them. Nothing else. The problem with this picture is its wholescale disconnect with our everyday experience. Stephen L.
Cosmos and Life: Everything Points to a Paradigm Shift
A question that I occasionally posed to my students is, “What’s stronger, the truth or a lie?”1 After discussing the idea, it usually came down to this, that truth will prevail. Why so? Essentially, a lie has no substance of its own, but the truth just is. A lie can stand only as long as the truth is obscured. Truth is permanent and falsehood is temporary. Truth is founded on reality, falsehood isn’t.
The Story, and the Meaning, of Everything
In the Wall Street Journal, Peter Robinson writes, “The most striking feature of The Story of Everything…is the sheer nerve of the thing.” The “nerve of the thing” — telling a story based on scientific evidence that refutes the materialistic worldview on several fronts — would have barely raised an eyebrow among those we regard as the founders of science.
Humans as “Beloved”: A Signature of Intelligent Design
In reading David Klinghoffer’s recent comments on Bethel McGrew’s Wall Street Journal article, relevant to The Story of Everything, a single phrase of McGrew’s particularly arrested my attention: “Man isn’t a lonely cosmic accident, but beloved.” To be “beloved” — isn’t that what we all long for at the deepest level of our being?
Story of Everything Presents the Truth About the Universe, Unshackled
At the end of March, I attended the first big-screen viewing of the upcoming theatrical documentary The Story of Everything, which opens April 30 (find tickets here). The screening took place in Nashville, TN, at Bethel World Outreach Church, hosted by Dr. Rice Broocks. After the film, Dr. Broocks invited Stephen Meyer and Brian Bird, one of the producers, to the stage for comments and an extended question-and-answer session.
After K–T Extinction Event, Life’s Unexpected Rebound Was “Ridiculously Fast”
Research at University of Texas at Austin reveals surprising developments in the origin of new plankton species after the K-T extinction event. This event, one of five major extinctions throughout Earth’s history, is widely associated with a massive impact that caused a global winter through ejected debris that enshrouded Earth in darkness for several months.
Evolution: What Is in a Word? (Hint: Not Much)
Naturalistically, a physical system will always come to equilibrium with the passage of time. Darwinian evolution maintains that certain configurations of matter will “evolve” towards states that remain far from equilibrium. With regard to living organisms, the relevant “states” pertain not just to energy, but to particle configurations that are specific, complex, and functional.
Foundational Evidence for Intelligent Design
As I noted here yesterday, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of Origins and Destiny by the late Robert Gange. The crucial argument for intelligent design presented by Gange1 in his book focuses on his explication of the meaning and consequences of the generalized second law of thermodynamics.
Origins, Destiny, and Intelligent Design
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of the book Origins and Destiny1 by the late Robert Gange. The author (1936-2019) was a research scientist and engineer, specializing in cryogenics and information theory. Dr. Gange also wrote extensively on scientific evidence for a creator. I obtained a copy of Origins and Destiny shortly after its publication.
Wheelbarrows, Watches, and Designers: More on Sean Carroll
Yesterday I offered a defense of the fine-tuning argument. Here I will address further objections that were brought up in the Alex O’Connor interview with cosmologist Sean Carroll. A common dismissal of the theistic fine-tuning argument attempts to use probability theory in a way that ends up clouding clear thinking concerning the evidence.
Why a Multiverse Doesn’t Refute Fine-Tuning
In a recently posted interview with theoretical physicist Sean Carroll, atheist podcaster Alex O’Connor invites Carroll to give his opinions and criticisms of the fine-tuning argument for God. Not surprisingly, Carroll champions the multiverse concept as his candidate to account for the multiple physical parameters that have values within a finely tuned range necessary for life to exist. Click here to display content from YouTube. Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy.
Can Equations Serve as a Designer Substitute?
I’ve been reading about some cosmological theories that attempt to explain the origin of our universe of space and time, matter and energy. Most of these theoretical variants involve the supposition of an equation of physics that includes aspects of both quantum mechanics and general relativity. Attempts to solve this equation depend upon the assumption of specific boundaries and initial conditions to facilitate possible solutions that depend on additional simplifying assumptions.
The Source of Human Creativity Is Intelligent Design
As we enter the new year, it’s a common practice to resolve to try something new. Making new year’s resolutions, however, is easier than keeping them. We often procrastinate and put off expending the effort. I want to focus here on the process of beginning a new creative endeavor and what it takes to succeed. Does our creativity reveal another fascinating facet of intelligent design within our lives? Suppose we want to create something, maybe small, like a short essay, or grand, like a new house.
What the Forces of Nature Can Do - And What They Can’t
In a recent series of articles on the characteristics of the four fundamental forces of nature, I highlighted some crucial phenomena in the universe that each of these forces help facilitate. Some, if not most, life-essential features of our universe, such as the existence of shining stars, depend upon not just one force, but contributions from all four forces.
Eric Hedin on Free Will and Morality in a Designed World
Episode 2147 With Andrew McDiarmid Guest(s) Eric Hedin Duration 00:20:13 Download Audio File (12.5 mb) Share Facebook Twitter/X LinkedIn Flipboard Print https://op3.dev/e/idthefuture.com/podcast-player/43452/2147.mp3 Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:20:13 | Are we responsible for our choices? What can the laws of nature teach us about morality?
The Weak Force: “Most Intricate and Subtle” of All
The last in our series on the four fundamental forces of nature is the weak force — arguably the most unusual of the four. It doesn’t even manifest primarily as a “force” at all — what we usually think of as a push or a pull. Instead, it causes or allows the transformation of certain particles from one type to another. In particular, the weak interaction can transform an up quark into a down quark, and vice versa, which causes a proton to be converted into a neutron, or the other way around.
Eric Hedin on Suffering in a Designed World
Episode 2144 With Andrew McDiarmid Guest(s) Eric Hedin Duration 00:27:35 Download Audio File (37.9 mb) Share Facebook Twitter/X LinkedIn Flipboard Print https://op3.dev/e/idthefuture.com/podcast-player/43451/2144.mp3 Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:27:35 | Is natural evil an argument against intelligent design? And is human evil more consistent with naturalism or theism?
A Thing of Beauty - The Electromagnetic Force
In this series on the four fundamental forces of nature that shape our universe, we now come to the force that most expressively impacts our lives. We’ve seen how gravity shapes the large-scale structures of our universe, pulling matter together to form stars and planets. The strong nuclear force does its part to combine nucleons into elements essential for life, releasing its prodigious energies that cause stars to shine.
Building the Foundations: The Strong Nuclear Force
In a previous article, we saw gravity’s role in shaping the large-scale structure of our universe and in bringing matter together to form life-essential stars and planets. Now, let’s explore the foundational role of another one of the four fundamental forces of nature, the strong force.
The Forces that Shape our Universe: Gravity
As a physicist, I’ve often thought that one of the most remarkable aspects of our universe is the discovery that just four fundamental forces of nature govern natural interactions among all particles of matter. Most people have learned that these forces include gravity, electric and magnetic forces (combined into the electromagnetic force), and nuclear forces (separated into the so-called strong and weak forces).
Death by Intelligent Design? A Biological Enigma
In all of our experiences, death accompanies life. But what if that weren’t so? What if death never terminated the existence of some form of living organism? For example, simple, single-celled bacteria reproduce asexually through binary fusion, with a doubling time as short as 30 minutes or less. If such bacteria remained untouched by death, their population would increase exponentially.
Biology, Like Technology, Requires “Something More”
Wendell Berry, in his book Life Is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition, cites a noted biochemist who contributed pioneering research on the structure of DNA. “Life,” wrote Erwin Chargaff, “is the continual intervention of the inexplicable.” Reading that statement led me to consider its validity in another context: our many human inventions and creations. For example, we have made technological devices such as radios, televisions, computers, and smart phones.
2025 Dallas Conference on Science and Faith
The-Common-Woodpecker--Chance-or-Design-2025-Dallas-Confer Intelligent Design 1 The Common Woodpecker: Chance or Design? Intelligent Design 1 Biologist Ray Bohlin explores the incredible intelligent design of the common woodpecker. Dr. Bohlin is a Fellow of the Center for Science and Culture at Discovery Institute. This talk was presented at the 2025 Dallas Conference on Science and Faith. Is-The-Soul-Real-A-Neurosurgeon-Explores-The-Evidence-2025 Intelligent Design 1 Is The Soul Real?
In a Universe of Non-Living Matter, Communication Sets Us Apart
Episode 2098 With Andrew McDiarmid Guest(s) Eric Hedin Duration 00:29:53 Download Audio File (41.1 mb) Share Facebook Twitter/X LinkedIn Flipboard Print https://op3.dev/e/idthefuture.com/podcast-player/43243/2098.mp3 Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:29:53 | Meaningful communication is found across all life forms, from the signals sent by trees through fungal networks to the deep conversations we can have with each other.
Physicist Eric Hedin: Information Processing as a Hallmark of Life
Episode 2097 With Andrew McDiarmid Guest(s) Eric Hedin Duration 00:22:45 Download Audio File (31.3 mb) Share Facebook Twitter/X LinkedIn Flipboard Print https://op3.dev/e/idthefuture.com/podcast-player/43241/2097.mp3 Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:22:45 | What if life isn’t just a collection of molecules bumping around?
Evolution News and Science Today
Much study has gone into investigating the local aspects of fine-tuning in the solar system and Earth that has proven necessary to allow life on our planet to survive and flourish. Intelligent design is reasonably inferred as the best explanation, especially when noting the overlap of conditions leading to both survivability of life on Earth and “discoverability” of fundamental aspects of the universe by inquiring humans.
Evolution News and Science Today
The attribute of the human mind that allows us to realize (grasp, apprehend, perceive, or understand) something as true, even if the concept is abstract and unprovable by logical deductions, illuminates an immaterial nature of our being. The new book, The Immortal Mind, by Dr. Michael Egnor and Denyse O’Leary powerfully argues for this conclusion based on modern neuroscientific evidence demonstrating that the human mind is more than the brain.
Evolution News and Science Today
Earlier this month, I enjoyed five days giving dozens of short lectures on astronomy, not in a classroom, but on location at multiple sites in and around Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon National Parks. As part of the development of an online introductory astronomy course through CampusEdu, two professional videographers met me in southern Utah to film mini-lectures ranging from Earth and solar-system design to evidence for dark matter.
Missing My Daughter in a Ghost Town
Hello Friends, This week my favorite guest writer is back for a special Father’s Day edition. The following story is by my husband Eric. If you’d like to listen, you can hear him read it on the audio. Starting now, instead of just appearing here in Turkey Town, you’ll can find him at his own Substack, NO/MADness. He has been keeping me entertained for many years with his crazy adventures, funny stories and weird interests, and now you’ll get to enjoy him too.
Why Life Is the Most Unnatural Thing in the Universe
Episode 2061 With Andrew McDiarmid Guest(s) Eric Hedin Duration 00:25:57 Download Audio File (35.8 mb) Share Facebook Twitter/X LinkedIn Flipboard Print https://op3.dev/e/idthefuture.com/podcast-player/43038/2061.mp3 Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:25:57 | We usually think of life as the most natural thing there is – blooming plants, flowing water, the cycles of nature. But what if that perspective is fundamentally challenged by the very laws of physics that govern our universe?
Evolution News and Science Today
A “quantum miracle” contributed to the formation of stable, neutral atoms in the early history of our universe, rendering possible the eventual formation of life. Astrophysicist and science writer Ethan Siegel reports on an example of fine-tuning residing within the quantum properties of the first element formed in our universe, the hydrogen atom. To eventually form stars, planets, and life, neutral atoms are a definite prerequisite.
Evolution News and Science Today
In Plato’s Revenge, David Klinghoffer’s exposition of biologist Richard Sternberg’s research provides a fascinating and accessible narrative. The topic — Sternberg’s conclusion pointing to the immaterial genome — urgently calls for attention. The book’s allusion to Plato’s theory of forms, avenging itself upon dogmatic reductionistic materialism, appropriately reminds us that the validity of philosophy is sometimes not apparent until we attain sufficient awareness of reality.
The Amazing, Intelligently Designed Honeybee (2025 Dallas Conference on Science and Faith)
Learn about the amazing intelligent design of the honeybee in this talk by physicist Eric Hedin at the 2025 Dallas Conference on Science and Faith. Dr. Hedin is author of the book Canceled Science: What Some Atheists Don’t Want You to See. Are you interested in the origins of life and the universe? Get this free book and explore the debate between Darwinian evolution and intelligent design. If you’re intrigued by the origins of life, this is a must-read. It might change the way you view our world.
Evolution News and Science Today
Communication is something that we can easily take for granted, and yet this pervasive attribute of living things represents bedrock evidence for intelligent design. Communication, to be effective, always includes three features. Expression Reception Comprehension Effective communication necessitates and relies upon the operation of all three features. A lack of any one of these causes communication to fail. In short, effective communication is irreducibly complex.
Evolution News and Science Today
Researchers have long recognized information (CSI) as a prime descriptor of living systems, in comparison to the low levels of information in non-living systems. Skeptics, however, seem to have remained convinced that natural processes can gradually ratchet up information, even in opposition to established laws of physics and observable operations of nature.
Month: April 2025
Photo credit: Spencer Thomas from Snohomish, United States, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.
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