Evolution of human cognition required Einstein’s gravitational waves

Schutz, Bernard F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9487-6983, Piran, Tsvi and Sutton, Patrick J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1614-3922 2025. Evolution of human cognition required Einstein’s gravitational waves. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science , 23439. 10.16995/zygon.23439

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Abstract

This article describes an unexpected anthropic fine-tuning of gravity: human cognition arose on Earth only because the laws of gravity included gravitational waves. Their link is the heat from decays of the radioactive isotopes 238U and 232Th, which were synthesized mainly in rare explosive mergers of binary neutron stars, brought about by the loss of orbital energy to gravitational radiation. This heat, released in Earth’s interior, has (1) maintained plate tectonics and (2) likely helped keep Earth’s iron core molten. The core’s magnetic field has protected all life from annihilation by the solar wind. More surprisingly, relative brain size, a proxy for cognition, has seen two sharp increases, first for mammals and then for humans, both attributed by evolutionary biologists to adaptations to major climatic changes caused by specific tectonic events. After the second event, the joining of North and South America, human brain size grew from chimpanzee levels to modern human ones. If the laws of gravity had not included gravitational waves, humans would not be capable of studying the laws of gravity.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Physics and Astronomy
Publisher:	Open Library of Humanities
ISSN:	0591-2385
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 January 2026
Date of Acceptance:	3 October 2025
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2026 14:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/183868

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