--- 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 minuscule as to make it absurd, it becomes sensible to think tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/fred-hoyle-11367_absurd_once-we-see-however-that-the-probability_2558348.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 minuscule 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/2f5/fred-hoyle-11367_absurd_once-we-see-however-that-the-probability_2558348.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/fred-hoyle-11367_absurd_once-we-see-however-that-the-probability_2558348.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/fred-hoyle-11367_absurd_once-we-see-however-that-the-probability_2558348.jpg) > “Once we see, however, that the probability of life originating at random is so utterly minuscule 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 intelligence -even to the limit of God.” [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 extreme improbability of life arising by chance suggests that the universe’s physical laws are finely tuned, implying a purposeful design or higher intelligence. **In simple terms:** Life’s odds are tiny, so design seems likely. Key Takeaway Consider the possibility of intentional design. Themes cosmology philosophy theology probability Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical theoretical When to use this quote - debates on origin of life - scientific discussions - philosophical reflections - theological arguments Key Concepts fine‑tuning anthropic principle intelligence Questions to Reflect On - What evidence would convince you of design? - How do we differentiate chance from intention? A Different Perspective Some argue natural processes could explain complexity without design. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Deliberate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate/) [Deliberate Inevitable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate-inevitable-1582535/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher/) [Inevitable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inevitable/) [Intelligence Limit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence-limit-1582536/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Originating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-originating-1582534/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Origin of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/origin-of-life/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Physics Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics-life-1010117/) [Probability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probability/) [Probability Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probability-life-1504785/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Sensible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensible/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Once we see, however, that the probability of life originating at random is so utterly miniscule 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-2/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [My intelligence will take me to my limit but only the Word of God can take me beyond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/my-intelligence-will-take-me-to-my-limit-but-only-the-word-of-god-can/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [There is a limit to human intelligence, but there is no limit to human stupidity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piero-scaruffi/there-is-a-limit-to-human-intelligence-but-there-is-no-limit-to-human/) [Piero Scaruffi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piero-scaruffi/) > [There is limit to intelligence ,but no limit to stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/there-is-limit-to-intelligence-but-no-limit-to-stupidity/) [SunShine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-conklin/) > [“...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 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [The likelihood of the formation of life from inanimate matter is 1 to a number with 40,000 noughts after it (1040,000)… It is big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/the-likelihood-of-the-formation-of-life-from-inanimate-matter-is-1-to/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [In short there is not a shred of objective evidence to support the hypothesis that life began in an organic soup here on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/in-short-there-is-not-a-shred-of-objective-evidence-to-support-the/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) > [The chance that higher life forms might have emerged through evolutionary processes is comparable with the chance that a tornado sweeping through a junk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/the-chance-that-higher-life-forms-might-have-emerged-through/) [Fred Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/) ## 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 Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once we see, however, that the probability of life originating at random is so utterly minuscule 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 intelligence -even to the limit of God.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fred Hoyle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/once-we-see-however-that-the-probability-of-life-originating-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/once-we-see-however-that-the-probability-of-life-originating-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/fred-hoyle-11367_absurd_once-we-see-however-that-the-probability_2558348.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/fred-hoyle-11367_absurd_once-we-see-however-that-the-probability_2558348.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/fred-hoyle-11367_absurd_once-we-see-however-that-the-probability_2558348.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Once we see, however, that the probability of life originating at random is so utterly minuscule as to make…” — Fred Hoyle", "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": "Fred Hoyle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hoyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Once we see, however, that the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/once-we-see-however-that-the-probability-of-life-originating-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hoyle/once-we-see-however-that-the-probability-of-life-originating-at/#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 } } ] } ```