Explanation
A. The passage does not indicate that scientists focus on irrelevant outcomes. Instead, it discusses the exploration of alternative sets of laws that could be compatible with life.
B. There is no mention that the current method is too unfocused to produce useful results; the passage actually describes a methodical approach to exploring different physical laws.
C. The author does not criticize the existing research for lacking mathematical rigor. The passage implies that this research is taken seriously and is methodologically sound.
D. (Correct Response) The passage suggests that the difficulty in identifying alternative sets of laws compatible with life has led to the assumption that the laws of physics are finely tuned. This implies that the conventional methodology might be resulting in a restricted set of outcomes that reinforces the idea of fine-tuning.
E. While the passage discusses the potential for alternate universes with life, it does not claim that the current methods will definitely lead to a workable model of an alternate universe with life.
The passage suggests that the conventional approach to investigating the fine-tuning of physical laws may be limited because it has not easily found many alternative sets of laws that allow for life, which could imply a methodology leading to a restricted range of outcomes.