The Privileged Planet

When I went to the negative comments on this documentary I saw statements like "hear the other evidence before you believe" ... I saw that repeatedly. Well ... what is the other evidence?? This documentary is SO COMPELLING I can't even imagine what could be contrary evidence. .... and perhaps that is why none of the critical comments mentioned any of this "other" evidence contrary to intelligent design ....

Documentary of a brilliant book that reveals that the same features in Earth's design and location that make it suitable for life and protect it from cosmic cataclysm's - e.g. supernovae - also enable us to peer deeply into the universe and discover the great Designer's intent. It provides an unassailable argument for an Intelligent Designer of the cosmos, by showing that our privileged planet has dozens of specific features that are essential to the formation or sustainment of life; and the improbability of all of them occurring randomly in any other planet in the universe is, pardon the pun, astronomically great. They also show how the size and location and location of our sun and moon allow for the perfect total solar eclipse - from which important discoveries have been. All this affirms what Solomon wrote: "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; it is the glory of kings to search out a matter" (Proverbs 25:2). Only our foolish generation could attribute a genius and beauty of design at every level that is immeasurably greater than ours to an unthinking, dead cosmos that is infinitely deader and stupider than we are.

The truthful insights of the DVD and book were considered so radical by secular professors where one of the co-authors taught [Iowa?] that he was denied tenure. Boy, totalitarian intellects and governments hate quality competition because, in contrast, their world views are untenable.A very enjoyable and informative presentation.

The Privileged Planet Why are there numerous factors that make life possible upon Earth and why is Earth the best place for scientific discovery, are two questions that the presentation attempts to answer. I would say that those interviewed do a very good job of providing answers. The Privileged Planet is very thought-provoking and the thoughtful viewer will likely want to watch it many times. There is a great deal of good material here.We often hear from the naturalists/philosophers that the earth and life on it are mere products of chance. Also, we hear that life must have appeared very easily in other parts of the universe. All a planet needs is water and there is going to be life. We hear also that Earth occupies no special place in the universe. The viewer will find much in The Privileged Planet that indeed challenges these oft-heard notions.The cinemetography is amazing; anyone who loves astronomy will find much here that is amazing to watch including a full solar eclipse over India; and not only are their great pictures of astronomical objects, there are excellent animations of probes making their way through our solar system and a rover doing exploratory research on Mars.The film's content is not just for the specialist but for the general public as well. There is food for thought here for everyone. Questions are asked that philosophers, scientists, and the ordinary person have been asking for centuries: is planet earth a product of chance or was it created for a purpose? The viewer is left to make up his/her own mind.I especially liked the quote from Copernicus: The mechanism of the universe, wrought for us by a supremely good and orderly Creator.... One speaker interviewed commented that this was not a conclusion of Copernicus's but an assumption. For me the quote from Copernicus gives the answer to the reason why Earth is so well-suited to life and is an ideal place to conduct scientific discovery.

If you are looking for a detailed analysis of modern science as an indication of the existence of a divine Creator, this is for you. The arguments made rely on scientific discovery; they are not intrinsically religious. The film appeals to the human intellect, rather than to the viewer's religious disposition. The film clearly made the connection between science and a divine Creator, but was not condescending, so I did not feel as if I was being taken for a simpleton. But the content was not too technical for an average person to understand either.

The authors point out that, contrary to the slogan of Carl Sagan's TV program "Cosmos," the earth is NOT just an "insignificant blue dot in the backwaters of the galaxy" (or something like that)!Beautifully filmed, logical, filled with facts I hadn't known about what it takes to make a planet where life can exist. The author's thesis is further that the same conditions that make life possible also make possible scientific study of the sun and the universe. Only perhaps 1 in a trillion trillion potential planets would have these properties!In fact, everywhere we look in nature, the evolution model fails to produce evidence of NON-design, which ought to cause us to conclude that there has to be a Designer. This particular video concerns astronomy and cosmology, but the pattern exists in biology, geology, paleontology, history, archaeology, and their subdivisions. [...]It's interesting that Guillermo Gonzalez, the astronomer who authored the book from which the video was made (The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos is Designed for Discovery) -- was denied tenure at Iowa State U strictly because the authorities don't agree with his viewpoint! Do you believe in freedom of thought? Iowa State doesn't! And neither do many other publicly-funded schools!This one is a "must see!"

This movie is fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone who subscribes to belief in the Copernican Principle or the Principle of Mediocrity. The authors and interviewed scientists make a great cummulative case that the earth is a very special place indeed and mankind does occupy a privileged position in the universe.

The dvd case was rattling when I opened it because the dvd had not been put into the case properly. As a result, the laser side of the disc was covered in scratches from not being protected during shipping. I was amazed to find that the film doesn't seem to have suffered any skips or freezes from the scratches. The film was gently informative, so anyone who hasn't ever studied astrophysics will still be able to understand it quite well. However, it was a rather short film, and it didn't go into any great detail; so, while I found it enjoyable, I couldn't find any justification for that huge price tag. I wouldn't have minded paying £15, but £45 was a bit rich. addendum: the scratches started becoming a problem during the second viewing. It's been returned.

I thought that this was a well presented body of scientific evidence documenting the necessary conditions on a planet and its postion in a solar system for life to exist. Also for the position of that system with in a galaxy being crucial as well. The cumulative odds for all this to happen by chance alone are so infinitesimely small -suggesting that the earth is indeed highly fortunate or privileged. It is the case for intelegent design but is not made in an overtly "religious" manner, but is sensitivetly done.

A fantastic and powerful film! I learned a lot of facts that I had never heard before about how unique our planet really is. What is so interesting is that the research team who got together to investigate if life could exist in other parts of the universe kept being drawn back to the strange uniqueness of the earth which moved them to investigate it instead. I like sharing this film with my friends and colleagues as a side entertainment and a good reason to investigate further the existence of a Creator. Well worth the money!

I really enjoyed watching this it shows the followers of scientism [the religion] that there are other ways of looking at things that might shake their faith. True science is based on observation and a desire for truth this is just that. It's also has some lovely photography.

A wonderful dvd. An in-depth explanation into the beginning of creation which is full of facts. None of the scientists involved are religiously minded but through their findings have come to the conclusion that the earth along with the whole galaxy had to have a creator, a designer. There is so much content that can help toward the argument against evolution, it really strengthens you belief in God.