Comment by ijidak

In reality, little of what we understand in physics was predicted, because there are no underlying reasons to predict the universe works the way it does.

In reality, almost all of our math was retrodicted (the result of taking observation and creating math to fit it).

So, as you said, we're left with anthropic arguments or religious arguments.

For me, I've ended this song and dance by realizing the crazy math works because it was part of a plan.

The more you look at the math, the more you realize that:

1. We can only work from observation back to the math. There is no consistency to the math, except "these are the rules needed to make a stable, habitable universe."

2. Our current mathematical understanding is mostly approximations and idealizations. Every time we look at the universe at a deeper level, we find exceptions that we are fortunate exist, because they allow for a richer universe than our math suggested should exist. (Quantum mechanics is a good example. Things like quantum tunneling were not imagined 150 years ago, but it allows fusion to take place in the sun at far lower densities than should seem possible.)

So, I agree with you. I'm convinced the real answer will never be found in the math of physics, only in the realm of philosophy and religion.

Edit: I love science and I believe we should keep studying and asking how this all works. But, I feel we can make plenty of progress simply asking "how" it works and realize that at this point, "why" it works seems to be fully unanswerable by science.