Abstract
One of the assumptions behind much of modern science is the Principle of Mediocrity. That's the unpleasant name for the principle that the earth does not occupy a special (i.e., central) place in the universe. Arguments in favor of this principle are rarely given, for most scientists accept it virtually as a datum. A few radical scientists such as Sir Fred Hoyle have openly questioned it, but for most it seems a given, and it is certainly presented as such in science textbooks.