7.2.2011

As a demonstration of universal law, the harlequin performs a balancing act using some strange oblong shapes that remind me of the eyes on the ends of peacock feathers. He carefully strings the shapes until a delicate equilibrium is achieved. At first I am not impressed with his little 'mobile'. Then I examine more closely and see that inside the shapes are clusters of galaxies; spinning and wobbling with tremendous angular momentum. I am in awe of the scale and how he bends gravity to his will. Each shape is internally stable. Was its nature designed to perform this trick? "Physical laws only apply locally." he can't wait to tell me when I step back in wonder, "Well, locally within each universe." "The trick...I'll give it to you" he bubbles with pride, "And once you have seen this I think you will understand the secret - the trick is to define your physical constants to levels below all possible instrumentation then no matter how much your audience measures, they can never detect the fix. The constants decide the way the bubbles form and the rest is automatic. Pretty neat, huh?" "In other words, by choosing just the right starting conditions, they can't help but achieve this configuration?" I ask; having always wondered why the Planck constant had the value it did. "It's over before it begins," he says grinning.

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