--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s the combination of improbability…" description: "\"It’s the combination of improbability with an independently given pattern that discredits chance.\" — William Lane Craig" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/william-lane-craig-8716_chance_it-s-the-combination-of-improbability-wi_1158412.jpg" --- # It’s the combination of improbability with an… ![“It’s the combination of improbability with an independently given pattern that discredits chance.” quote by William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/william-lane-craig-8716_chance_it-s-the-combination-of-improbability-wi_1158412.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/william-lane-craig-8716_chance_it-s-the-combination-of-improbability-wi_1158412.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/william-lane-craig-8716_chance_it-s-the-combination-of-improbability-wi_1158412.jpg) > “It’s the combination of improbability with an independently given pattern that discredits chance.” [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that improbable events with patterns undermine random chance. **In simple terms:** Patterns make chance unlikely. Key Takeaway Seek logical explanations for coincidences. Themes philosophy probability logic Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical skeptical When to use this quote - scientific research - everyistic debates - personal decision making Key Concepts causality determinism Questions to Reflect On - What patterns do you see in random events? - Can chance ever be truly random? A Different Perspective May overlook randomness in complex systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Combination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/combination/) [Combination Improbability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/combination-improbability-3305764/) [Discredit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discredit/) [Discredits Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discredits-chance-3305762/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Improbability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improbability/) [Improbability Independently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improbability-independently-3305763/) [Pattern Discredits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pattern-discredits-3305765/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) ## Related quotes > [Okay, look at it this way: if the evening news has a very high probability of being accurate, then it's highly improbable that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/okay-look-at-it-this-way-if-the-evening-news-has-a-very-high/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [The atheist, agnostic, or secularist ... should insist on the need to engage in a meaningful debate on the entire issue of the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-atheist-agnostic-or-secularist-should-insist-on-the-need-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What I can't understand is why you invoke improbability and yet you will not admit that you're shooting yourself in the foot by postulating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-i-can-t-understand-is-why-you-invoke-improbability-and-yet-you/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The more improbable the message, the less "compressible" it is, and the more bandwidth it requires. This is Shannon's point: the essence is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-poundstone/the-more-improbable-the-message-the-less-compressible-it-is-and-the/) [William Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-poundstone/) > [“In the sheer, shimmering improbability of the moment, it seemed to Lazlo that his dream had tired of waiting and had simply… come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/in-the-sheer-shimmering-improbability-of-the-moment-it-seemed-to/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [Nature seems to exult in abounding radicality, extremism, anarchy. If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nature-seems-to-exult-in-abounding-radicality-extremism-anarchy-if-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“The daily hummingbird assaults existence with improbability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-daily-hummingbird-assaults-existence-with-improbability/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [The miracle of man is not how far he has sunk but how magnificently he has risen. We are known among the stars by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ardrey/the-miracle-of-man-is-not-how-far-he-has-sunk-but-how-magnificently/) [Robert Ardrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ardrey/) > [For existential mathematics, which does not exist, would probably propose this equation: the value of coincidence equals the degree of its improbability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/for-existential-mathematics-which-does-not-exist-would-probably/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [We are the accidental result of an unplanned process ... the fragile result of an enormous concatenation of improbabilities, not the predictable product of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-are-the-accidental-result-of-an-unplanned-process-the-fragile/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [“I had a dream about you last night... I was a brick and you were a blanket. Damn that improbability drive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-mckay/i-had-a-dream-about-you-last-night-i-was-a-brick-and-you-were-a/) [Nicole McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-mckay/) > [One day my heart and soul will realize the impossible improbability my mind already knows..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/one-day-my-heart-and-soul-will-realize-the-impossible-improbability/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [The argument from improbability, properly deployed, comes close to proving that God does not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-argument-from-improbability-properly-deployed-comes-close-to/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“For random events to produce even a single protein would seem a stunning improbability—like a whirlwind spinning through a junkyard and leaving behind a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-random-events-to-produce-even-a-single-protein-would-seem-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by William Lane Craig > [Part of the broader task of Christian scholarship is to help create and sustain a cultural milieu in which the gospel can be heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/part-of-the-broader-task-of-christian-scholarship-is-to-help-create/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [The point is this: If God does not exist, then life is objectively meaningless; but man cannot live consistently and happily knowing that life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/the-point-is-this-if-god-does-not-exist-then-life-is-objectively/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [“By setting such strong, harsh dichotomies God taught Israel that any assimilation to pagan idolatry is intolerable. It was His way of preserving Israel’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/by-setting-such-strong-harsh-dichotomies-god-taught-israel-that-any/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [If you're sincerely seeking God, God will make His existence evident to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/if-you-re-sincerely-seeking-god-god-will-make-his-existence-evident/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [Scepticism, ironically, draws its life's blood from claims to have a good deal of knowledge. For example, your friends claim to know, 'Since every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/scepticism-ironically-draws-its-life-s-blood-from-claims-to-have-a/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [“...if there's a supernatural agent that is working in the natural world, then the idealized conditions described by the law are no longer in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/if-there-s-a-supernatural-agent-that-is-working-in-the-natural-world/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [If true love came at a price, the price would be all worth while if i was spending it on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/if-true-love-came-at-a-price-the-price-would-be-all-worth-while-if-i/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [“There are various virtues of what counts as a best explanation, and I imagine familiarity is one of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/there-are-various-virtues-of-what-counts-as-a-best-explanation-and-i/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [People think of time as a continuum composed of points which is stretched out at a line, and even if you add a direction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/people-think-of-time-as-a-continuum-composed-of-points-which-is/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [“...if God does not exist and there is no immortality, then all the evil acts of men go unpunished and all the sacrifices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/if-god-does-not-exist-and-there-is-no-immortality-then-all-the-evil/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [“So how do you find out what God thinks? The Christian says, you look in the Bible. And the Bible tells us that God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/so-how-do-you-find-out-what-god-thinks-the-christian-says-you-look-in/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [So whom does God wrong in commanding the destruction of the Canaanites? Not the Canaanite adults, for they were corrupt and deserving of judgment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/so-whom-does-god-wrong-in-commanding-the-destruction-of-the/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [ Richard \[Carrier\] takes the extremist position that Jesus of Nazareth never even existed, that there was no such person in history. This is a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/richard-carrier-takes-the-extremist-position-that-jesus-of-nazareth/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [ I am an Orangeman first and a politician and member of this parliament \[Stormont\] afterwards. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/i-am-an-orangeman-first-and-a-politician-and-member-of-this/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [“In addition to these physical problems, sexually transmitted diseases are rampant among the homosexual population. 75% of homosexual men carry one or more sexually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/in-addition-to-these-physical-problems-sexually-transmitted-diseases/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) [Explore all 78 William Lane Craig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) ## More Chance quotes > [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/) [Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/) > [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I'd be the champ, and look where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stipe-miocic/i-understand-it-s-promotion-but-no-one-ever-gave-me-a-chance-no-one/) [Stipe Miocic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stipe-miocic/) > [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [Love changes people, for better or for worse. You could look at it as a chance for you to change. The best kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-changes-people-for-better-or-for-worse-you-could-look-at-it-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's not who, it's when”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-taubas/it-s-not-who-it-s-when/) [Alejandro Taubas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-taubas/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. And by chance and how the world works, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/i-thought-my-first-few-jobs-would-just-be-off-off-off-off-off/) [Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/) > [If you’re worrying about the past, you’ve got a good chance of screwing up the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-a-tullman/if-you-re-worrying-about-the-past-you-ve-got-a-good-chance-of/) [Howard A. Tullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-a-tullman/) > [To be successful, one must take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/to-be-successful-one-must-take-chances/) [Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/) [Browse all 12,460 Chance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It’s the combination of improbability with an independently given pattern that discredits chance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Lane Craig" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/it-s-the-combination-of-improbability-with-an-independently-given/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/it-s-the-combination-of-improbability-with-an-independently-given/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/william-lane-craig-8716_chance_it-s-the-combination-of-improbability-wi_1158412.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/william-lane-craig-8716_chance_it-s-the-combination-of-improbability-wi_1158412.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/william-lane-craig-8716_chance_it-s-the-combination-of-improbability-wi_1158412.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It’s the combination of improbability with an independently given pattern that discredits chance.” — William Lane Craig", "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": "William Lane Craig", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It’s the combination of improbability with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/it-s-the-combination-of-improbability-with-an-independently-given/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/it-s-the-combination-of-improbability-with-an-independently-given/#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 } } ] } ```