By the way, one possible reason why the constants might have changing, even
wildly, is that during the Planck Era the universe was no bigger than 10^-33
cm in diameter. This has led some theorists to describe the universe as an
infinitesimally tiny quantum object. These same theorists have stated that
space-time itself could have been subject to wild, unpredictable
fluctuations. Since the physical laws, and thus the values of the physical
constants, are derived from space-time, if space-time was subject to the
uncertainty principle, so were the physical laws. However, once the
universe had entered the Electroweak Era at the end of the Inflation Era,
the universe had grown large enough that quantum uncertainty no longer had
any influence over it as a whole. Once space-time settled down, so did the
physical laws and thus the values of the physical constants. Hence the
reason why the electroweak theory does not predict fluctuations in the
constant values.
As for the evidence I described concerning the "temporal variation in the
fine-structure constant" being preliminary, yes I know it is; I said it was!
Or weren't you listening? I also described attempts by people to explain it
without resorting to variation in the laws of physics. Nonetheless, the
experimental data is real and it does strongly suggest that some constants
at least could have been changing. So why we don't we wait and see what
develops before you try to dictate what I can and cannot talk about.
PS -- I never told Randy to keep his beliefs to himself or that he should
"drop" them from discussion. I respect his right to say anything he likes
on this list, even if it is sheer speculation.
Kevin L. O'Brien