The Math of Human Existence: You Are a Unique Jewel
To illustrate how precious every human being is, Mel Robbins pointed out at a 2011 Ted Talk conference that the probability of being born with the characteristics you have is about 1/400 trillion. Sounds incredible, doesn't it?
This incredible number reflects how rare and valuable your existence truly is—comparable to the formation of the rarest gemstone hidden deep within the earth. Just as gemstones like diamonds require immense pressure and millions of years to form, your unique existence is the product of countless unlikely events unfolding over time.
Well, this is the probability that you were born at the time you were born, with your specific parents, as well as with your particular genetic makeup.
Consider this: just as it takes millions of years for a diamond to form under the earth's surface, enduring extreme temperatures and pressures, the chain of events that led to your existence had to unfold perfectly. What are the chances that a diamond would be found on the exact day, in the precise location, by the right person who treasures it? These odds are similar to the probability of your birth—a one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable moment in the universe.
According to Epoch Times, doctor Ali Binazir took the concept a little further. He participated in that specific Ted Talk and later researched the claim, making his own calculations about the probability of a person's existence.
Dr. Binazir is an author and personal change specialist, he studied at Harvard and received a degree in medicine from the University of California. He also studied philosophy at the University of Cambridge.
The expert analyzed the likelihood of a man's parents meeting, given how many men and women there are on Earth and how many people of the opposite sex would have met that mother and father in the first 25 years of life.
He then calculated the chances for them to talk, to meet again, to form a long-term relationship, to have children together, and for the perfect egg to combine with the perfect spermatozoid to create a human being.
Much like the process of forming a flawless gemstone, every step in your ancestry had to align perfectly. One misstep in this sequence could alter everything, just as a minor flaw during a diamond’s formation might affect its brilliance. The meeting of your parents, their genetic combination, and the precise circumstances that led to your existence are as rare as finding a perfectly cut gemstone amid a sea of unpolished stones.
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Dr. Binazir goes even further trying to calculate the probability of procreation of all of one's ancestors.
The bottom line is that "the chances of you existing are virtually zero."
This can be likened to the probability of discovering a rare gemstone that has been hidden deep within the earth for millennia. The process of extracting a precious diamond from the earth's crust is just as extraordinary as the journey of life that led to you.
You Are a Miracle, So Go Act Like One
The doctor illustrates the situation this way: "(The probability of your existence) is the probability that two million people will sit together to play a game of dice with trillions of faces. Each rolls the dice and they all give exactly the same number - for example, 550,343,279,001."
"A miracle is an event so unlikely to happen that it is almost impossible. Following this definition, we have just shown that you are a miracle," the expert concluded. "Now, go ahead, feel and act like the miracle you are."
Just as a rare gemstone that survives the trials of nature and human discovery is treasured for its uniqueness, you are a miracle—a one-of-a-kind creation shaped by the forces of the universe. No other person shares the exact combination of traits, experiences, and circumstances that make you who you are, just like no two gemstones are ever truly alike.
Spiritual people talked about how precious human life is.
Dr. Binazir recalled a famous analogy from Eastern Spirituality: "Imagine that there is a lifebuoy thrown somewhere in an ocean and there is only one turtle in all the oceans, swimming underwater somewhere. The probability that you will appear and exist is as small as the probability that that turtle will stick its head out of the water in the middle of this lifebuoy, in a single attempt. "
The doctor decided to test this understanding in that famous analogy with the modern scientific understanding. He analyzed the amount of water in the oceans compared to the size of the lifebuoy and concluded that the chances of a tortoise's head coming to the surface, right in the middle of the lifebuoy, were about 1/700 trillion.
"1/400 trillion versus 1/700 trillion? I have to say that the two numbers are close enough for such an exaggerated notion, coming from two completely different sources: ancient sages and today's scientists," Ali Binazir added.
Like the process of finding the rarest gemstones on Earth, your existence is a result of near-impossible odds. Diamonds and other gemstones, which take millions of years to form, endure extreme conditions and must be discovered at just the right moment by just the right person. Similarly, the series of events leading to your existence is equally remarkable—making your life as precious as the finest gem.
