I just saw a clip on Facebook. Yeah, yeah, I know. Fuckin' moronic FB. I'm on it mainly for local buy swap sell, and to keep in touch with a couple of old mates. Plus there are some cool groups with old Hong Kong pics that titillate my nostalgia.
But anyway, this clip:
Far out. So doing some calculations and assumptions based on known history, we think the total number of people who have ever lived is around 100 billion. Big number, but not in the context of the universe - be it macro or micro. So how about the total number of people who could possibly ever live, based on our DNA, the human genome, and how all that works? Well, they reckon the number is at least 1 billion trillion trillion, and quite likely, more than that. A million is six zeroes. A billion nine. A trillion 12.
So that means 9 x 12 x 12 = ~1,300 zeroes after the one. That is the total possible combinations of human DNA, as in, how many possible individuals could be born. Not sure if it is possible for the same person to be born twice, but for the sake of this, let's assume not. So we have 1,300 zeroes possible, compared to 11 that have ever lived. 11 / 1,300 = 0.84%. A very small proportion.
What this means is that we - the people who are alive today, or at any time - are incredibly lucky. For even if you assume that the human race goes on for another 100 billion lives, hey let's say 900 billion, which is probably unlikely. That puts another zero on the actual. So 12 out of 1,300 = 9%. That means 91% of the people who could possibly ever live, won't ever even be born. Those of us who do live, even if life isn't always a whole lot of fun, are getting the chance that most will never have. Wow, that kind of puts a different perspective on things doesn't it? What an opportunity we have. Most people will never even exist, let alone have the chance to live a life full of amazing things. I must keep that in mind, and make the most of this life that I have.
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