You know the old theory that if you had enough monkeys and enough time one of them would randomly type the complete works of Shakespeare. And that’s supposed to prove that complex intelligent life on Earth could randomly occur.
But a funny thing has happened as science has progressed recently; it has made discoveries which make randomness a tougher sell.
In fact, Earth and the universe itself seem strangely perfect for the existence of people. You’ve got gravity, strong & weak nuclear forces, water, an atmosphere which protects us, the placement of the moon and the Sun at just the right distance to promote life, and the precise amount of oxygen levels to support life.
But here’s the thing. Many scientists start off with the “given” that there is no Creator. So as science continues to show all these “coincidences” which seem to indicate that life seems designed to be here, many scientists’ have been forced to expand the pool of possibilities to allow for these “coincidences.” In short, for many scientists the universe necessarily grows bigger with each “coincidence” science discovers.
Essentially science has been calling for more monkeys for a while now.
Scientists, to avoid a Creator, have been theorizing multiverses which are essentially parallel universes, an infinite universe, an ever expanding universe, baby universes and more.
Now, there’s no evidence for any of this. But if you accept that there’s no God the only way we could be here is if there’s many many many monkeys typing away so that random chance can occur.
And now come reports from the BBC:
There could be one hundred billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, a US conference has heard.
Dr Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Science said many of these worlds could be inhabited by simple lifeforms.
He was speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago.
So far, telescopes have been able to detect just over 300 planets outside our Solar System.
Very few of these would be capable of supporting life, however. Most are gas giants like our Jupiter, and many orbit so close to their parent stars that any microbes would have to survive roasting temperatures.
But, based on the limited numbers of planets found so far, Dr Boss has estimated that each Sun-like star has on average one “Earth-like” planet.
This simple calculation means there would be huge numbers capable of supporting life.
“Not only are they probably habitable but they probably are also going to be inhabited,” Dr Boss told BBC News. “But I think that most likely the nearby ‘Earths’ are going to be inhabited with things which are perhaps more common to what Earth was like three or four billion years ago.” That means bacterial lifeforms.
There is nothing to base this one whatsoever other than the belief that the universe must be tremendously large because the chances of us being here are so minuscule that the universe must be essentially infinite. In order to continue promoting the theory that man is a “curious accident” on a spinning rock, science continues to theorize without evidence an infinite universe without end.
My biggest fear is that I hope these scientists are caring for all these metaphorical monkeys because if they get loose we could have the beginning of a Charlton Heston movie on our hands.
February 18, 2009 at 10:12 am
I suppose we mathematicians shouldn’t burst their bubble by telling them “random chance” doesn’t actually exist?
Silly scientists. We are gods to you.
February 18, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Sounds like they are getting ready to blow the dust of the Drake equation: Aliens Cause Global Warming
February 18, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I don’t see what’s wrong with there being other civilizations out there…I mean, the universe is pretty large, and does seem to have quite a few galaxies.
Find another civilization that has a Trinity/monotheistic concept of God, and sacrificial savior-figure, and you’ve got yourself some “can’t really dispute” arguments in favor of our faith.
Besides, this seems like old news…I’ve had this idea since I was 12.
February 18, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Well we all love to dream…as do I!
Actually I would see no theological problem with the existence of life out side of Earth…really. Maybe it would take some discussion and thought and debate, but it all came from God, so there cannot be a problem!
Some scientist don’t believe in God. But many do and yet when they study the universe, they have to be wary of simply saying, ‘and that was God,’ because we’re trying to figure out how this universe which God made works and what’s in it; we already know God exists, we’re trying to figure out the rest. We have this insatiable desire to know about the world around us…its called wonder (http://www.newadvent.org/summa/2032.htm#article8) and in my opinion, it can’t help but bring us closer to God.
FYI, next month NASA is launching a telescope called Kepler-http://kepler.nasa.gov/-which might discover Earth-like planets around other stars. Not life, but planets. I’m tremendously excited.
February 18, 2009 at 7:54 pm
I don’t think Matthew has an issue with life elsewhere so much as the unscientific beleif that there absolutely MUST to be life elsewhere even though there is no evidence to support the thesis.
February 18, 2009 at 11:20 pm
But, based on the limited numbers of planets found so far, Dr Boss has estimated that each Sun-like star has on average one “Earth-like” planet.
Seriously, how much work went into that prediction? Our star is sun-like and it has one earth-like planet, therefore I hypothesize that on average every sun-like star has one earth-like planet. Done! Let’s call it a day.
February 19, 2009 at 12:34 am
For real now,
Can anyone truly say that at a physical level (taking the soul out of it) can you really say that all of this -FOR SURE- could not have been caused by random chance? I really don’t see why not.