As opposed to the usual conception , which presents Genesis as claiming a very short amount of time between the emergence of the universe and that of humanity, we propose an alternate way to view Genesis's juxtaposition of the two events - and of the creation and Eden accounts which describe them.
Overview: The quantum physics "measurement problem" has prompted various attempts at a resolution, however what seems like a perfectly reasonable solution to one physicist seems outlandish to another. One of the proposals - by a number of very prominent physicists - is that the relevant active ingredient is human consciousness. We adapt this to the proposition that it is specifically a "truly free-willed" consciousness rather than just a generic consciousness which would be relevant. We also discuss the implications for cosmology of this "quantum metaphysics" approach.
We also discuss its relevance to Bible-science issues.
Specifically, we claim that the type of moral-responsibility-generated purpose which Genesis and the rest of the Bible imputes to the universe could not commence until a free-willed being emerges. In this way, both quantum metaphysics and biblical religion consider the universe to have begun in a meaningful sense upon emergence of a free-willed being - which in biblical terms is the 'Adam' (human) of the Eden account (after eating from the 'Tree of Knowledge' and acquiring a moral sense to distinguish between good and evil, enabling meaningful choice between them).
Thus it is reasonable both from the biblical and our "quantum metaphysical" perspective that the bible presents the creation of the universe juxtaposed to the emergence of Adam.
Outline:
The first part of the article below discusses the issue of free will from the philosophical and logical perspective.
We then introduce concepts of quantum physics and the possible relevance of human consciousness.
We then explain our reasons for supposing that for this purpose it is free will which is the essential ingredient of consciousness.
We then proceed to a discussion of universal purpose from an anthropomorphic 'divine perspective'.
In the last section we analyze the cosmological significance of free will.
INSERT LINK TO FREE WILL ARTICLE HERE
Insert from other page on my site the diagram and caption from Wheeler [It is referred to in a footnote in the article so it is not a totally new addition – but insert it as a part of the text not into the footnote].
(quantum metaphysics indicates the possibility that the universe emerged into true physical existence only when there was a conscious observer in it).
Conclusion: The creation/Eden accounts imply that the universe emerged into existence as part of a process in which the first free-willed beings emerge. This meshes well with both Wheeler's quantum metaphysical idea of the universal conscious observer, which we interpret as a free-willed observer, and also with the idea that from the divine perspective the onset of universal purpose, and therefore the most reasonable creation point, is at the emergence of free-willed beings.
Further Reading: The bible-science aspect of the above article is fleshed out in more detail in the author's article "The Instant Retroactive Universe: And God Said: "Let there have been a big bang".