--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you let hydrogen gas alone for 13…" description: "\"If you let hydrogen gas alone for 13 billion years it will become giraffes, rose bushes and humans.\" — Brian Swimme" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/brian-swimme-24933_billions_if-you-let-hydrogen-gas-alone-for-13-bil_1341147.png" --- # If you let hydrogen gas alone for 13 billion years it will… ![“If you let hydrogen gas alone for 13 billion years it will become giraffes, rose bushes and humans.” quote by Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/brian-swimme-24933_billions_if-you-let-hydrogen-gas-alone-for-13-bil_1341147.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/brian-swimme-24933_billions_if-you-let-hydrogen-gas-alone-for-13-bil_1341147.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/brian-swimme-24933_billions_if-you-let-hydrogen-gas-alone-for-13-bil_1341147.png) > “If you let hydrogen gas alone for 13 billion years it will become giraffes, rose bushes and humans.” [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Given enough time, hydrogen evolves into complex life, illustrating the universe's long‑term creative potential. **In simple terms:** Hydrogen eventually forms life over billions of years. Key Takeaway Appreciate the universe's slow, creative process. Themes cosmology creation patience Mood wonderful thought‑provoking Type lecture scientific When to use this quote - astronomy education - science outreach - philosophical reflection Key Concepts entropy evolution complexity Questions to Reflect On - What does this timeline suggest about humanity's place? - How does this view affect our responsibility to Earth? A Different Perspective Life emergence is not guaranteed; many variables affect outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [13 Billion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/13-billion-2331222/) [Billion Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billion-years/) [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [Gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gas/) [Giraffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giraffe/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Hydrogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hydrogen/) [Hydrogen Gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hydrogen-gas-4531779/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Let Hydrogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-hydrogen-3122352/) [Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rose/) [Rose bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rose-bush/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [This is the greatest discovery of the scientific enterprise: You take hydrogen gas, and you leave it alone, and it turns into rosebuds, giraffes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/this-is-the-greatest-discovery-of-the-scientific-enterprise-you-take/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Let there be more corn and more meat and let there be no hydrogen bombs at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/let-there-be-more-corn-and-more-meat-and-let-there-be-no-hydrogen/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [We are 13.7 billion light-years from the edge of the observable universe, That's a good estimate with well-defined error bars, Scientists say it's true,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-singh/we-are-13-7-billion-light-years-from-the-edge-of-the-observable-2/) [Simon Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-singh/) > [We are 13.7 billion light-years from the edge of the observable universe; that's a good estimate with well-defined error bars and with the available…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-singh/we-are-13-7-billion-light-years-from-the-edge-of-the-observable/) [Simon Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-singh/) > [Four billion years ago the planet Earth was molten rock; now it sings opera!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/four-billion-years-ago-the-planet-earth-was-molten-rock-now-it-sings/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [This is often a outstanding entire world, lady morph into the various models of gorgeous female's, that's why hiring spectacular of the colours, whenever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/how-one-can-compliment-karen-millen-prom-dresses/this-is-often-a-outstanding-entire-world-lady-morph-into-the-various/) [How One Can Compliment Karen Millen Prom Dresses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/how-one-can-compliment-karen-millen-prom-dresses/) > [“Ever seen a two-year-old tattering around a garden? There might be a poison ivy, or rose bushes or hawthorne around the edges. There might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-lane/ever-seen-a-two-year-old-tattering-around-a-garden-there-might-be-a/) [Andy Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-lane/) > [California is the only state in the union where you can fall asleep under a rose bush in full bloom and freeze to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/california-is-the-only-state-in-the-union-where-you-can-fall-asleep/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [“Almost Easter Shaking bone meal from my bare hands into the rose bed where only one bush grows, I feel as if I’m scattering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicia-mitchell/almost-easter-shaking-bone-meal-from-my-bare-hands-into-the-rose-bed/) [Felicia Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicia-mitchell/) > [You can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/you-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have-thorns-or-rejoice-because/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Golf isn't just about hitting a lot of drivers. I grew up playing on my front lawn, chipping and putting into soup cans, out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-alcott/golf-isn-t-just-about-hitting-a-lot-of-drivers-i-grew-up-playing-on/) [Amy Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-alcott/) > [I earned my first steady paycheck watering rose bushes at a nursery for a dollar an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/i-earned-my-first-steady-paycheck-watering-rose-bushes-at-a-nursery/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [The new wrinkle is that escalating advances in technology are nourishing the narcissistic ego the way chicken manure nourishes a rose bush, while exploding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-new-wrinkle-is-that-escalating-advances-in-technology-are/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“The real strength of the rose bush is not in the flowers but in the roots and the branches.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorcas-kareithi/the-real-strength-of-the-rose-bush-is-not-in-the-flowers-but-in-the/) [Dorcas Kareithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorcas-kareithi/) > [“Hugh and Fiona stood off to one side, their hands linked and foreheads touching, saying goodbye in their own quiet way. Finally, we'd all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/hugh-and-fiona-stood-off-to-one-side-their-hands-linked-and-foreheads/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) ## More by Brian Swimme > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [By pursuing your allurements, you help bind the universe together. The unity of the world rests on the pursuit of passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/by-pursuing-your-allurements-you-help-bind-the-universe-together-the/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [The proper condition of the human is not bovine placidity... the highest degree of tension that can be creatively borne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/the-proper-condition-of-the-human-is-not-bovine-placidity-the-highest/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [This is the greatest discovery of the scientific enterprise: You take hydrogen gas, and you leave it alone, and it turns into rosebuds, giraffes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/this-is-the-greatest-discovery-of-the-scientific-enterprise-you-take/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [That is our larger destiny: to allow the Earth to organize in a new way, in a manner impossible all the billions of years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/that-is-our-larger-destiny-to-allow-the-earth-to-organize-in-a-new/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [I flush with heaving passion's strange delight, Yet find contentment lost in appetite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/i-flush-with-heaving-passion-s-strange-delight-yet-find-contentment/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [All professions, all work, all activity in the human world finds its essential meaning in the context of a people's cosmic story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/all-professions-all-work-all-activity-in-the-human-world-finds-its/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [The earth was once molten rock and now sings operas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/the-earth-was-once-molten-rock-and-now-sings-operas/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [The universe is an inexhaustible celebration of ultimate mystery!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/the-universe-is-an-inexhaustible-celebration-of-ultimate-mystery/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Each person discovers a field of allurements, the totality of which bears the unique stamp of that person’s personality. Destiny unfolds in the pursuit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/each-person-discovers-a-field-of-allurements-the-totality-of-which/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [The human being is that space in which the comprehensive compassion that pervades the universe from the very beginning now begins to surface --within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/the-human-being-is-that-space-in-which-the-comprehensive-compassion/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [When humans find themselves surrounded by nothing but objects, the response is always one of loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/when-humans-find-themselves-surrounded-by-nothing-but-objects-the/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Humans enter this world and awaken to a simple truth: We must find our story with this great epic of being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/humans-enter-this-world-and-awaken-to-a-simple-truth-we-must-find-our/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Each being in the universe yearns for the free energy necessary for survival and development. Each existence resists extinction. The consequent history of violence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/each-being-in-the-universe-yearns-for-the-free-energy-necessary-for/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [There is nothing more mysterious than destiny - of a person, of our species, of our planet, or of the universe itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/there-is-nothing-more-mysterious-than-destiny-of-a-person-of-our/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) [Explore all 23 Brian Swimme quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) ## More Billions quotes > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [As far as Japan is concerned, I want to help all of our allies, but we are losing billions and billions of dollars. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/as-far-as-japan-is-concerned-i-want-to-help-all-of-our-allies-but-we/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The universe is simmering down, like a giant stew left to cook for four billion years. Sooner or later we won’t be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-bloch/the-universe-is-simmering-down-like-a-giant-stew-left-to-cook-for/) [Arthur Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-bloch/) > [Right now, the government is spending billions of dollars supporting the problem-makers in the U.S. economy - the polluters, despoilers, incarcerators, and warmongers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/right-now-the-government-is-spending-billions-of-dollars-supporting/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [If Jesus is the Son of God in human flesh, He's one of a kind of the 13 billions of people who have ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/if-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-in-human-flesh-he-s-one-of-a-kind-of-the/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [Here we were talking about economic development, about investing billions of dollars in various programs, and I could see it wasn't billions of dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/here-we-were-talking-about-economic-development-about-investing/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [Everyone thinks they've won the Magical Belief Lottery. Everyone thinks they more or less have a handle on things, that they, as opposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/everyone-thinks-they-ve-won-the-magical-belief-lottery-everyone/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-neuroses-and-some-psychoses-can-be-traced-to-the-unnecessary-and/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The idea of spontaneous generation of life in its present form is therefore highly improbable even to the scale of the billions of years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilya-prigogine/the-idea-of-spontaneous-generation-of-life-in-its-present-form-is/) [Ilya Prigogine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilya-prigogine/) > [To defy heredity is to defy billions of years, to defy the first cell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/to-defy-heredity-is-to-defy-billions-of-years-to-defy-the-first-cell/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [When I look at the human brain I'm still in awe of it. Every single time you lift off the bone and open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/when-i-look-at-the-human-brain-i-m-still-in-awe-of-it-every-single/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ We have the ability to take him \[President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez\] out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/we-have-the-ability-to-take-him-president-of-venezuela-hugo-chavez/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [The buildings that were in question, they said in the same report, which was - actually, it wasn't even a bad story, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-buildings-that-were-in-question-they-said-in-the-same-report/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) [Browse all 1,864 Billions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you let hydrogen gas alone for 13 billion years it will become giraffes, rose bushes and humans.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brian Swimme" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/if-you-let-hydrogen-gas-alone-for-13-billion-years-it-will-become/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Billions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/if-you-let-hydrogen-gas-alone-for-13-billion-years-it-will-become/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/brian-swimme-24933_billions_if-you-let-hydrogen-gas-alone-for-13-bil_1341147.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/brian-swimme-24933_billions_if-you-let-hydrogen-gas-alone-for-13-bil_1341147.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/brian-swimme-24933_billions_if-you-let-hydrogen-gas-alone-for-13-bil_1341147.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you let hydrogen gas alone for 13 billion years it will become giraffes, rose bushes and humans.” — Brian Swimme", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Brian Swimme", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you let hydrogen gas alone...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/if-you-let-hydrogen-gas-alone-for-13-billion-years-it-will-become/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/if-you-let-hydrogen-gas-alone-for-13-billion-years-it-will-become/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```