Congratulations you are here!

I’ve talked about coincidences and the goldilocks zone before. It’s a train of thought that gets deeper the more you think about it. For some it leads to proof of a divine creator. Simpler souls like me come to more mundane conclusions. Next time you take your existence for granted just mull over some of these amazing thoughts.




If there were no moon, if the moon were smaller or if it were further away the Earth’s orbit would wobble around, as Mars does. The seasons would be irregular, weather would be chaotic and life, if it had got started at all, would have evolved very differently. You would not be here.


If the Earth were just 2 or 3 % smaller it’s gravity would be too weak to hold onto all of it’s atmosphere, the lighter gases including Oxygen would drift off into outer space. 2 or 3% larger and poisonous primordial gases like Iodine and Xenon that actually have dispersed into space would still be here in toxic quantities. Either way you would not be here.


If Jupiter were a bit bigger, a bit smaller, or located somewhere else in the solar system you would not be here Without it’s strong gravitational force the solar system would still be full of dangerous asteroids some of which would hit the Earth with regularity that would wipe out life. A bit bigger and Earth would have been drawn out of its comfortable orbit into a place where you would not survive.


If gravity were a tiny bit weaker, mass would not create the pressures in stars needed for them to shine. Our sun would be a big cold ball of gas. Our planet, if it existed, would be a dark frozen frigid place. If gravity were a tiny bit stronger the stars would be drawn together causing cataclysmic collisions. Either way there’s no chance you’d be here.


Omega is a unit of measurement. It expresses the relative density of the universe. It was set at the moment of the big bang. Had it been just one part in a million billion smaller the universe would already have expanded and cooled. It would be too cold for you. One part in a million billion bigger and the big bang would have collapsed in on itself and the universe would not exist. Nor of course would you.


Given that it is so incredibly unlikely that you are here. How come you are? You may believe that God made you, and you may be right. But here is my more mundane idea. Whatever set of permutations exist give rise to what is here. You are only here because the dice fell the way they did. Had they fallen differently another being would have to ponder the same thought. So for me life is a bit like winning the lottery. You only have to ponder why if you win. The good news is you are here. Congratulations you won the most unlikely prize of all – life!