Statistically, the probability of any one of us being here is so small that you'd think the mere fact of existing would keep us all in a contented dazzlement of surprise. We are alive against the stupendous odds of genetics, infinitely outnumbered by all the alternates who might, except for luck, be in our places. Even more astounding is our statistical improbability in physical terms. The normal, predictable state of matter throughout the universe is randomness, a relaxed sort of equilibrium, with atoms and their particles scattered around in an amorphous muddle. We, in brilliant contrast, are completely organized structures, squirming with information at every covalent bond. We make our living by catching electrons at the moment of their excitement by solar photons, swiping the energy released at the instant of each jump and storing it up in intricate loops fro ourselves. We violate probability, by our nature. To be able to do this systematically, and in such wild varieties of form, from viruses to whales, is extremely unlikely; to have sustained the effort successfully for the several billion years of our existence, without drifting back into randomness, was nearly a mathematical impossibility. Add to this the biological improbability that makes each member of our own species unique. Everyone is one in 3 billion at the moment, which describes the odds. Each of us is a self-contained, free-standing individual, labeled by specific protein configurations at the surfaces of cells, identifiable by whorls of fingertip skin, maybe even by special medleys of fragrance. You'd think we'd never stop dancing.Lewis Thomas
About This Quote
The author, David Foster Wallace, wrote this in his essay, "This is Water" It’s the same old, same old. We all live in the same old house. Our cars are all the same. They go fast but they brake just as quickly.
And then there’s that one guy, that one girl who does something different. Look at me. I always do things differently.
Who cares? Why am I an exception? One day you realize that it doesn’t matter who has the most money or the most power or even who has the best ideas or any of that stuff. Because once you understand how it works you can change it. Not by holding some big meeting and coming up with some long list of new laws and police officers and bureaucrats to enforce them but instead by changing the way you think.
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