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Equation 3 · Part 2 · Fine-Tuning Without a Tuner: Selection Effects in Physics

Symbol λ

nobs(λ)n_{\text{obs}}(\lambda)
λ\lambda

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λ is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.

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λ is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.

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…has no such settled status — whether it exists at all, in what sense, and how to count it relative to ours (the term nobs(λ)n_{\text{obs}}(\lambda) in the expression above, the number or measure of observers a given value of λ\lambda produces) is precisely the disagreement the rest of this article has to work through. The trap analogy is exact about the logic of selection — you must condition on it — and silent about the ontology the anthropic argument additionally needs — that there be other trials to condition over in…

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