I was filling a water bucket when an earwig (tiny insect) fell from the oak tree above me to drop smack in the middle of the hose spray. And as is my way – I reached in to scoop it out. I’ll even scoop out most flies. It made me chuckle. What are the chances little bug that you’d fall from on high to land right here WHILE I WAS WATCHING to scoop you out?
What are the chances that of the 8.7 million species on Earth … 8,700,000 … I’d get to be human? Or of the 107 billion people that have lived so far … 107 000 000 000 … I’d get to be born into this era?
What are the chances that of the one hundred thousand million stars in the Milky Way … 100 000 000 000… I’d get to be born here? Looking at our sun – from our planet – from our continent – from our country – from our little rural plot of land?
Do you know how to consider those chances? I’d have to figure out the probability of each and then multiply them. Woah! Those are some slim odds!
1/8 700 000 (chance of being human) x 1/170 000 000 000 (chance of being THIS human) x 100 000 000 000 (chance of being in this solar system) x 1/9 (I still count Pluto) x 1/7 (chance of being on this continent) x 1/193 (chance of being in this country) x 1/15 000 000 (chance of being on THIS property in Canada) !!
My quick calculations read that as a 1 in 17 983 100 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 chance!!! That is seventeen thousand nine hundred and three decillion! (A decillion has thirty three zeros.)
The chance of winning the Lotto Max Lottery is 1 in 33,294,800. SO MUCH MORE LIKELY! No wonder we like to buy a ticket each week! 😉
The Meadow View 