Miguel,
You said:
"But why are so many properties of the universe fine-tuned for life?"
They are not! They are indeed very badly tuned. At least for the kind of life I have in mind. You see, this universe is particularly ill-suited for life based on neutrobisonic spheroids. Huh? Neutrobisonic spheroids, you ask? What are they? Well, how the hell should I know? They don't frickin' exist, do they? Because of this stupid universe and it's stupid properties.
Seriously now, what I'm saying is that each property of the universe has to have
some value. Then, given the particular values of all the properties of the universe, whatever happens isn't a miracle, it simply follows. In this universe, life as we know it happens to be one of the consequences. Why moan about it? Enjoy it!
You could think of it this way. Imagine you're a pond. Don't worry, you're an
intelligent pond. You can, shall we say, 'ponder'. The question is: are you intelligent enough not to waste time pondering why the hole you sit in is exactly the right shape for you?
Take your time chewing on it.
{edited to include "as we know it"}
[This message has been edited by Parasomnium, 07-24-2003]