The Shocking Probability of Existence
1 in 1x10^2,685,000. Looking at it purely scientifically, that is the probability of you existing. Those are the chances of your parents meeting and reproducing, your parent's parents meeting a reproducing and so on all the way until the beginning of life. The chances of the Earth forming and life progressing to you. 10 followed by 2,685,000 zeros. This number was determined by a mathematician way smarter than me. I won't go into all the juicy mathematics, but you can find them in the article I got this number from. Of course this number isn't definite. There are other factors to consider like divine placement and all of that stuff, but purely scientifically the odds are 1 in 1x10^2,685,000. When I first saw this number I was terrified. I didn't know why but I was terrified by that number. After thinking about it, I know why I was terrified.
According to that number, I really shouldn't be here. It is such an astronomical impossibility that it made me think about how close I came to not existing. I was likely to just be nothing. No conscience. No thoughts. No opinions. No dreams. Just, nothing. It would have just been similar to before I was born. What was it like before I was born for me? Nothing. According to that number, I was very likely to remain nothing, but here I am. After thinking these thoughts I had the usual what is the meaning of it all questions floating around, but now not so much. I have come to accept that I was likely to not exist, but here I am. If anything, it motivated me.
I have a very unlikely shot at life, I might as well make the best of it. Make friends, go on adventures, watch TV, make a difference on the people you meet, use your chance at life to its fullest potential. I exist, the number worked out it my favor and there is no changing that. Time to live.
No matter how many times I see that statistic, it always shocks me. It means that even a slight deviation from history could mean that millions of people would no longer exist. It really makes you wonder abut you and your place in the universe, but it's good that you were able to get past it and use it as motivation.
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely a crazy statistic, one we can't even comprehend. When we started trying to have a family 6 years ago, I very quickly learned how many thousand little things need to "go right" scientifically in order to bring a new life into the world. It's mind boggling because it happens every single day, but when you get into the science of it, the whole concept of existence is really crazy. I don't personally like to use the phrase "miracle of life," but there certainly seems to be something mystical about humanity's existence against all of the odds.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is a very large number. I've never really sat down and thought about how small the chances of existing are. I was reading the article and it is crazy just how small the odds of your parents even meeting are, let alone staying together long enough to have children. This is kind of scary when you think of it. However it is nice to know that even though the odds of us existing are extremely low, were still here.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I really have a solid opinion on this just because my brain can currently not comprehend that number. Everything in this world has such a small probability of happening. For example so many things had to happen for you to have the pair of shoes you have on right now. You had to go to the right store at the right time, be with certain people that point them out to you, or be in the right mindset and have enough money to pay for them. Without all those things lining up you would not have those shoes. I don't know if that makes any sense but for me when I see that number I think of how everything in this world has such a small probability of happening.
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