Uncommon Descent Contest Question 15: Can Darwinism - or any evolution theory - help us predict life on other planets? Winner announced

Go here for the contest and here for the results.

Uncommon Descent Contest Question 14: Is backwards or forwards time travel really possible? Winner announced

The question was,

For a free copy of the Privileged Planet DVD, about the unique position of Earth, provide the clearest answer to this second question: Is backwards or forwards time travel really possible, even for particles? Why or why not? What are the consequences if it is true?

Go here for the contest and here for the results.

Three new Uncommon Descent contests: Lots of fun for physics buffs

Win a free Privileged Planet DVD, courtesy the producers, for the best post answering any of the following questions:

Uncommon Descent Contest Question 13: The Large Hadron Collider is back up and running, but why?

Nine billion dollars and 15 years later, what is the Large Hadron Collider likely to tell us that is worth the cost and trouble?

Uncommon Descent Contest Question 14: Is backwards or forwards time travel really possible?

Two physicists have suggested that Hadron's woes are due to particles travelling back in time. Their theory has been received with the amusement one might expect, but it raises an interesting question, one that is a staple of sci-fi literature - is forward or backward time travel possible, even for particles?

Uncommon Descent Contest Question 15: Can Darwinism - or any evolution theory - help us predict life on other planets?

At Britain's Telegraph (November 04, 2009), Tom Chivers advises that "Darwinian evolutionary theory will help find alien life, says Nasa scientist."

Here are the contest rules, not many. Winners receive a certificate verifying their win as well as the prize. Winners must provide me with a valid postal address, though it need not be theirs. A winner's name is never added to a mailing list. Have fun, and enter as many as you like.

Contest Question 1: Does the multiverse help science make sense - or simply destroy science?

This is Contest Question 1 for Earn Free Stuff: Does the multiverse help science make sense - or simply destroy science?

To help you decide, here’s a classic pop science article by Anil Ananthaswamy of New Scientist, fronting the multiverse:

Today’s measurements show the universe to be flat, but the uncertainty in
those measurements still leaves room for space-time to be slightly curved -
either like a saddle (negatively curved) or like a sphere (positively curved).
“If we originated from a tunnelling event from an ancestor vacuum, the bet would
be that the universe is negatively curved,” says Susskind. “If it turns out to
be positively curved, we’d be very confused. That would be a setback for these
ideas, no question about it.”

Until any such setback the smart money will remain with the multiverse
and string theory. “It has the best chance of anything we know to be right,”
Weinberg says of string theory. “There’s an old joke about a gambler playing a
game of poker,” he adds. “His friend says, ‘Don’t you know this game is crooked,
and you are bound to lose?’ The gambler says, ‘Yes, but what can I do, it’s the
only game in town.’ We don’t know if we are bound to lose, but even if we
suspect we may, it is the only game in town.”

Question: For a free copy of Expelled, is this a way to do science? Note, you must register at Uncommon Descent to comment.

Contest introduction: Earn free stuff!: The Uncommon Descent Contest

Why just be a commenter when you can also earn free stuff that is worth money?

Recently, I asked for and received 25 prizes, as follows:

10 DVDs of Expelled,courtesy the producers.

10 DVDs of Privileged Planet, courtesy the producers.

5 subscriptions, including back issues, to the excellent Christian/theistic science and culture mag, Salvo, complete with recent back issues, courtesy the editor-in-chief.

I will pose a question based on a recent news story, and ask for responses within two weeks. I will publish the winning response in a subsequent post.

You must go to Uncommon Descent and register to comment. (You will not receive any solicitations - at least none that originate from us.)

Rules:

1. No more than 400 words in response. I will select the response I find most interesting and print it as a post. Be succinct.

2. New ideas impress me, even if I disagree. Rants and myths don't. Re abuse: Uncommon Descent is not competing for Troll Hole of the Year, so ...

3. I will not correspond with anyone about the award. My In Tray is already a natural disaster. If you don't win, try again. And who knows, if this contest takes off, I may be offered more prizes.

The first question will come shortly.