--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once we see, however, that the…" description: "\"“Once we see, however, that the probability of life originating at random is so utterly miniscule as to make it absurd, it becomes sensible to think th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/fred-hoyle-11367_darwinism_once-we-see-however-that-the-probability_3031472.jpg" --- # Once we see, however, that the probability of life… ![“Once we see, however, that the probability of life originating at random is so utterly miniscule as to make it absurd, it becomes sensible to think that the favorable properties of physics on which life depends are in every respect deliberate ... . It is therefore almost inevitable that our own…” quote by Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/fred-hoyle-11367_darwinism_once-we-see-however-that-the-probability_3031472.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/fred-hoyle-11367_darwinism_once-we-see-however-that-the-probability_3031472.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/fred-hoyle-11367_darwinism_once-we-see-however-that-the-probability_3031472.jpg) > ““Once we see, however, that the probability of life originating at random is so utterly miniscule as to make it absurd, it becomes sensible to think that the favorable properties of physics on which life depends are in every respect deliberate ... . It is therefore almost inevitable that our own measure of intelligence must reflect ... higher intelligences ... even to the limit of God ... such a theory is so obvious that one wonders why it is not widely accepted as being self-evident. The reasons are psychological rather than scientific.”” [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The improbability of random life emergence suggests purposeful design, implying higher intelligences and a divine aspect, but this view is often dismissed due to psychological bias. **In simple terms:** Life’s origin seems purposeful, hinting at higher intelligence. Key Takeaway Consider both scientific and philosophical perspectives. Themes origin design intelligence philosophy Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - academic debate - public discourse - education - policy making Key Concepts anthropic principle probability theology Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports random life? - How do biases shape scientific acceptance? A Different Perspective Skepticism may overlook empirical evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darwinism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darwinism/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) ## Related quotes > [Once we see, however, that the probability of life originating at random is so utterly minuscule as to make it absurd, it becomes sensible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/once-we-see-however-that-the-probability-of-life-originating-at/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [The probability of life ever evolving on Earth was slim to none. It's insane that we're all walking around and talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesha/the-probability-of-life-ever-evolving-on-earth-was-slim-to-none-it-s/) [Kesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesha/) > [“...that realisation that I was the oddity, the statistical probability, life was predictable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-dugdall/that-realisation-that-i-was-the-oddity-the-statistical-probability/) [Ruth Dugdall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-dugdall/) > [“The probability of life originating from accident is comparable to the probability of the Unabridged Dictionary resulting from an explosion in a printing factory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-conklin/the-probability-of-life-originating-from-accident-is-comparable-to/) Edwin Conklin > [I will make you love physics and your life will never be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lewin/i-will-make-you-love-physics-and-your-life-will-never-be-the-same/) [Walter Lewin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lewin/) > [I became an atheist because, as a graduate student studying quantum physics, life seemed to be reducible to second-order differential equations. Mathematics, chemistry and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/i-became-an-atheist-because-as-a-graduate-student-studying-quantum/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Bohr’s standpoint, that a space-time description is impossible, I reject a limine. Physics does not consist only of atomic research, science does not consist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-schrodinger/bohr-s-standpoint-that-a-space-time-description-is-impossible-i/) [Erwin Schrodinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-schrodinger/) > [My personal background is actually very unusual for the kind of career I chose. I didn’t meet anyone who had ever done physics in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/my-personal-background-is-actually-very-unusual-for-the-kind-of/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [“I believe life not only obeys the laws of physics, but that life began because of those laws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-believe-life-not-only-obeys-the-laws-of-physics-but-that-life-began/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Life cannot have had a random beginning ... The trouble is that there are about 2000 enzymes, and the chance of obtaining them all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/life-cannot-have-had-a-random-beginning-the-trouble-is-that-there-are/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [“The most essential prediction of Darwinism is that, given an astronomical number of chances, unintelligent processes can make seemingly-designed systems, ones of the complexity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-behe/the-most-essential-prediction-of-darwinism-is-that-given-an/) [Michael J. Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-behe/) > [The predominant idea behind globalization, in its most virulent form, is an unpleasant kind of social Darwinism - that the world is for winners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/the-predominant-idea-behind-globalization-in-its-most-virulent-form/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [“If Darwinists are opposed to mentioning scientific problems with their view, you would think they would be even more opposed to mentioning intelligent design.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-wells/if-darwinists-are-opposed-to-mentioning-scientific-problems-with/) [Jonathan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-wells/) > [“I swear his looks are pure Darwinism. If he wasn't so cute, someone would have killed him for being annoying by now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lord/i-swear-his-looks-are-pure-darwinism-if-he-wasn-t-so-cute-someone/) [Emery Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lord/) > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) ## More by Fred Hoyle > [“Life cannot have had a random beginning ... The trouble is that there are about 2000 enzymes, and the chance of obtaining them all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/life-cannot-have-had-a-random-beginning-the-trouble-is-that-there-are/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [ One \[idea\] was that the Universe started its life a finite time ago in a single huge explosion, and that the present expansion is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/one-idea-was-that-the-universe-started-its-life-a-finite-time-ago-in/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [Some super-calculating intellect must have designed the properties of the carbon atom, otherwise the chance of my finding such an atom through the blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/some-super-calculating-intellect-must-have-designed-the-properties-of/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [The suggestion that petroleum might have arisen from some transformation of squashed fish or biological detritus is surely the silliest notion to have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/the-suggestion-that-petroleum-might-have-arisen-from-some/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [Not far from the meeting's venue, at one of the famed Observatory Club tea meetings, Fred once started a talk by saying, 'Oh, Ooh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/not-far-from-the-meeting-s-venue-at-one-of-the-famed-observatory-club/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [Perhaps the most majestic feature of our whole existence is that while our intelligences are powerful enough to penetrate deeply into the evolution of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/perhaps-the-most-majestic-feature-of-our-whole-existence-is-that/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [Hoyle's enduring insights into stars, nucleosynthesis, and the large-scale universe rank among the greatest achievements of 20th-century astrophysics. Moreover, his theories were unfailingly stimulating,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/hoyle-s-enduring-insights-into-stars-nucleosynthesis-and-the-large/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [In the popular mind, if Hoyle is remembered it is as the prime mover of the discredited Steady State theory of the universe. "Everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/in-the-popular-mind-if-hoyle-is-remembered-it-is-as-the-prime-mover/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [“I am an atheist, but as far as blowing up the world in a nuclear war goes, I tell them not to worry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/i-am-an-atheist-but-as-far-as-blowing-up-the-world-in-a-nuclear-war/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [Science is prediction, not explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/science-is-prediction-not-explanation/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [I don't see the logic of rejecting data just because they seem incredible ... the establishment defends itself by complicating everything to the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/i-don-t-see-the-logic-of-rejecting-data-just-because-they-seem/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [Earlier theories ... were based on the hypothesis that all the matter in the universe was created in one big bang at a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/earlier-theories-were-based-on-the-hypothesis-that-all-the-matter-in/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [It seems to be a characteristic of all great work that it creators wear a cloak of imprecision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/it-seems-to-be-a-characteristic-of-all-great-work-that-it-creators/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [Once I had learnt my twelve times table (at the age of three) it was downhill all the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/once-i-had-learnt-my-twelve-times-table-at-the-age-of-three-it-was/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [The notion that not only the biopolymer but the operating program of a living cell could be arrived at by chance in a primordial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/the-notion-that-not-only-the-biopolymer-but-the-operating-program-of/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) [Explore all 60 Fred Hoyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) ## More Darwinism quotes > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [“The most essential prediction of Darwinism is that, given an astronomical number of chances, unintelligent processes can make seemingly-designed systems, ones of the complexity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-behe/the-most-essential-prediction-of-darwinism-is-that-given-an/) [Michael J. Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-behe/) > [“If Darwinists are opposed to mentioning scientific problems with their view, you would think they would be even more opposed to mentioning intelligent design.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-wells/if-darwinists-are-opposed-to-mentioning-scientific-problems-with/) [Jonathan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-wells/) > [“I swear his looks are pure Darwinism. If he wasn't so cute, someone would have killed him for being annoying by now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lord/i-swear-his-looks-are-pure-darwinism-if-he-wasn-t-so-cute-someone/) [Emery Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lord/) > [The predominant idea behind globalization, in its most virulent form, is an unpleasant kind of social Darwinism - that the world is for winners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/the-predominant-idea-behind-globalization-in-its-most-virulent-form/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [“Life cannot have had a random beginning ... The trouble is that there are about 2000 enzymes, and the chance of obtaining them all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/life-cannot-have-had-a-random-beginning-the-trouble-is-that-there-are/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [The important stuff won't happen, just do things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-important-stuff-won-t-happen-just-do-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [... no compelling data to support its anachronistic social Darwinism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/no-compelling-data-to-support-its-anachronistic-social-darwinism/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [It is impossible for a person who fears Allah to commit terrorist acts because of his faith. Such acts are committed by people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harun-yahya/it-is-impossible-for-a-person-who-fears-allah-to-commit-terrorist/) [Harun Yahya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harun-yahya/) > [“Before you can ask 'Is Darwinian theory correct or not?', You have to ask the preliminary question 'Is it clear enough so that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berlinski/before-you-can-ask-is-darwinian-theory-correct-or-not-you-have-to-ask/) [David Berlinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berlinski/) > [“He remembers that it was said to him, "Our ancestors were animal forms." But he does not remember that these forms were gods. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/he-remembers-that-it-was-said-to-him-our-ancestors-were-animal-forms/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [ \[Dr. Constain James\] refuted so well the aberrations of Darwinism… \[A system\] which is repugnant at once to history, to the tradition of all… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-ix/dr-constain-james-refuted-so-well-the-aberrations-of-darwinism-a/) [Pope Pius IX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-ix/) > [The vulgarization of Darwinism that sees the "struggle for existence" as nothing but the competition for some environmental resource in short supply ignores the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/the-vulgarization-of-darwinism-that-sees-the-struggle-for-existence/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [“BioLogos claims there is no conflict between the theory of evolution and creationism. Huh? Here is where the creationists seem to have the intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-jackson/biologos-claims-there-is-no-conflict-between-the-theory-of-evolution/) [G.M. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-jackson/) > [“In science's pecking order, evolutionary biology lurks somewhere near the bottom, far closer to phrenology than to physics. For evolutionary biology is a historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-science-s-pecking-order-evolutionary-biology-lurks-somewhere-near/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) [Browse all 208 Darwinism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darwinism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Once we see, however, that the probability of life originating at random is so utterly miniscule as to make it absurd, it becomes sensible to think that the favorable properties of physics on which life depends are in every respect deliberate ... . It is therefore almost inevitable that our own measure of intelligence must reflect ... higher intelligences ... even to the limit of God ... such a theory is so obvious that one wonders why it is not widely accepted as being self-evident. 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