Fine-Tuned Laws Give Shape to the Cosmos

Scientists find intriguing
hidden geometries that ‘may
rewrite the laws of Physics’

 

The Shape of the Heavens
Math and Evidence of Divine Design

by Sarah Buckland-Reynolds, PhD

Studying Physics as an elective up to the second year of my undergraduate degree, I often became flustered by the complex calculus equations we were taught to derive during classes to explain physical observations. Back then, I often wondered why anyone would devise such complex equations and what purpose they served beyond the classroom. My perspective shifted after encountering a creation-based viewpoint, revealing that scientists didn’t invent these equations to vex students; they were uncovering universal laws that govern matter and all processes in this finite universe, enabling precise predictions of motion, temperature, and energy—laws already embedded in nature, waiting to be discovered. This newfound understanding transformed my frustration into awe and enthusiasm for physics, and through God’s grace, I went on to achieve a first-class honours degree with a 4.06 GPA.

Despite the vast knowledge already uncovered in Physics and Mathematics, ongoing discoveries continue to astonish scientists, showcasing mathematics as a remarkable unifying language that underpins physical phenomena from the atomic level to the cosmic scale. In this article, I reflect on an intriguing paper recently published in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society about new discoveries in algebra and positive geometry, exploring how teaching Mathematics can inspire youth to find science meaningful and see God’s wonder through numbers:

Algebraic and Positive Geometry of the Universe: From Particles to Galaxies (Fevola and Sattelberger, Notices of the American Mathematical Society, September 2025 issue).

A Reflection on Design

In this article, mathematics researchers Claudia Fevola from Inria Saclay and Anna-Laura Sattelberger from the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, underscored the profound connection between physical observations and mathematics, emphasizing how elegantly mathematical frameworks can describe and predict physical phenomena. In their words:

“The relationship between mathematics and physics is profoundly symbiotic: mathematics provides the language and tools to describe and predict physical phenomena, while physics inspires the discovery and development of new mathematical concepts”.

The notion of ‘symbiosis’ highlights how the intelligibility of our universe has been interwoven into a language of numbers that enable predictability. This directly contradicts the evolutionary concept of randomness and chaos. Instead, the comprehensibility and predictability of the universe suggest a pre-existing blueprint with logic, symmetry, and structure.

But, where did this blueprint come from?

Physics Faces Fine-Tuning: Is the Big Bang the Builder?

Although the authors acknowledge this ‘symbiosis’, they mistakenly attribute the ‘design’ of mathematical concepts to the work of physicists, even while admitting elsewhere that these equations are derived from and tested against processes already operating in nature. In their words:

“… we present the novel and mutually enriching interactions arising from employing algebra, geometry, and combinatorics as tools for elaborating the mathematical concepts designed by theoretical physicists to investigate the universe….”

In another section they assert:

“…one could argue that the Big Bang already did such experiments for us and that the resulting data are out there in the sky. To extract them, new mathematics is needed. One approach for addressing this challenge is to analyze large-scale correlations observed today, such as among galaxies, and use them to infer the physical processes that shaped the early universe. Simultaneously, as a theoretical foundation, cosmologists rely on frameworks grounded in quantum field theory and positive geometry.”

While the authors attribute the design of mathematical concepts to physicists and their experimentation to the ‘Big Bang’, their very use of the term ‘design’ underscores the unavoidable point that mathematics, as the unifying language of physical laws, cannot be accounted for by random, unguided evolution. While the implicit admission of design is noteworthy, the authors’ use of scientifically imprecise rhetoric—such as attributing ‘experimentation’ to a singular, unrepeatable event like the Big Bang—conflates observational inference with speculative interpretation. In doing so, they sidestep the profound question of why the cosmos operates as though it were governed by elegant, intelligible mathematics. Moreover, their phrasing that the universe “left data in the sky” assumes that cosmic structures encode decipherable information in a manner analogous to human-designed systems. This raises a huge philosophical question: Why should the universe be intelligible at all?

Insofar as scientific literature excludes the reasonable consideration of a non-material Mind as the source of physical laws and their underlying mathematical order, it is compelled to humanize a supposedly random, undirected process such as the Big Bang—casting it as an ‘experimenter’—in order to account for the extraordinary precision with which those laws operate. [See Personification Fallacy.]

In their attempt to reconcile the Big Bang theory with mathematical intelligibility, the authors further state that “large-scale correlations observed today, such as among galaxies,” may be used “…to infer the physical processes that shaped the early universe”. This statement however presupposes that present structures can reliably encode past dynamics. Yet within the vast timescales assumed by evolutionary cosmology, the persistence of stable laws and low entropy would itself require explanation—one that is difficult to provide apart from an appeal to fine-tuning.

“Unexpectedly well-behaved” Structures?

To illustrate the usefulness of mathematical models in explaining the universe’s origins, the authors point to Cosmological Correlators. These models, built on certain assumptions, aim to capture the statistical properties of the universe’s initial conditions that led to today’s galaxies and cosmic background radiation. With reference to cosmological correlators the authors rightfully stated that:

“….recent advances revealed that the resulting combinatorial structures are unexpectedly well-behaved…”

Why was the ‘well-behaved’ nature of these combinatorial structures considered ‘unexpected’?

They are unexpected because evolutionary models can only account for them by introducing unobserved parameters and hypothetical processes—without explaining why such processes should exist. Intelligent design, however, directly predicts such “well-behaved” structures, since a purposeful Creator would design the universe with order from the beginning.

Mathematics Driving Innovative Engineering: Feynman Diagrams and Positive Geometry

Adding even more depth to the discussion, the authors focused their attention on two unifying mathematical concepts that both govern particle interactions as well as the structure of the universe: Feynman integrals and Positive Geometry.

Feynman integrals describe how particles and quarks interact, including the exchange of subatomic particles such as electrons. This interaction is then visualized in a Feynman diagram. This interaction is not random; as the authors note, there are “explicit rules for associating a function to each diagram.” The very existence of such explicit, calculable rules underscores the impression of intentional design present in nature—even at the subatomic scale.

Decoding these existing mathematical blueprints of particle behaviour has paved the way for innovations such as medical imaging and radiation therapy. In radiation therapy, for example, high-energy particles, such as photons, electrons, or protons are directed at tumors. Using Feynman equations, physicists can predict whether particles will scatter or be absorbed, as well as how their interactions generate secondary particles when striking atoms in the body. This enables highly precise predictions of dose distributions, allowing, for example in cancer therapy, the minimization of damage to healthy tissue.

How wonderful is it that encoded physical laws (not put there by humans, but only decoded by humans, can now be used to further advance innovation!

Positive Geometry: The Architecture of the Invisible

Mathematical derivations also demonstrate that particle movements form non-arbitrary, voluminous shapes. These scattering “shapes” can be described using positive geometry equations. As the authors explain, positive geometry “defines scattering amplitudes in terms of purely geometric structures… whose volume directly computes the scattering amplitude.”

Within a cosmic evolutionary framework, why should abstract geometry correspond so precisely to physical reality? Notably, even without today’s detailed derivations, the universe’s precision and intelligibility profoundly moved Albert Einstein. Back in 1936, he published the following in the Journal of the Franklin Institute:

“The very fact that the totality of our sense experiences is such that by means of thinking (operations with concepts, and the creation and use of definite functional relations between them, and the coordination of sense experiences to these concepts) it can be put in order, this fact is one which leaves us in awe, but which we shall never understand. One may say ” the eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility.” It is one of the great realisations of Immanuel Kant that the setting up of a real external world would be senseless without this comprehensibility.”

Teaching Children: From Wonder to Worship

While Fevola and Sattelberger’s elaboration on Feyman Integrals and Positive Geometry would prove technical to most young readers, their unifying assessment “from Particles to Galaxies” offers insights that demonstrate numbers are not merely abstract concepts. Mathematics “works” because it serves as a language capable of describing phenomena across scales—from the microscopic to the cosmic.

By teaching mathematics—including geometry as a “language of order”—with age-appropriate explanations and experiments, educators can foster faith, purposeful learning, and integrative thinking, just as God intended. As the Bible already stated centuries ago: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth forth His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). The universe is not mute: positive geometry and algebraic structures testify using the language of mathematics with a clear choreography in both its beauty and intelligibility. By grounding science in wonder and mathematics in meaning, we cultivate a generation that recognizes God’s design—not just in Scripture, but in the stars, the shapes, and the equations.

Ed. note:  For a fitting conclusion to this article, watch Illustra Media’s latest short video, The Call of the Cosmos:

---

Dr. Sarah Buckland-Reynolds is a Christian, Jamaican, Environmental Science researcher, and journal associate editor. She holds the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona with high commendation, and a postgraduate specialization in Geomatics at the Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. The quality of her research activity in Environmental Science has been recognized by various awards including the 2024 Editor’s Award from the American Meteorological Society for her reviewing service in the Weather, Climate and Society Journal, the 2023 L’Oreal/UNESCO Women in Science Caribbean Award, the 2023 ICETEX International Experts Exchange Award for study in Colombia. and with her PhD research in drought management also being shortlisted in the top 10 globally for the 2023 Allianz Climate Risk Award by Munich Re Insurance, Germany. Motivated by her faith in God and zeal to positively influence society, Dr. Buckland-Reynolds is also the founder and Principal Director of Chosen to G.L.O.W. Ministries, a Jamaican charitable organization which seeks to amplify the Christian voice in the public sphere and equip more youths to know how to defend their faith.