The Rare Earth hypothesis* lists the very favorable conditions that led to complex life becoming possible and sustaining and how that’s unlikely to occur anywhere else on earth.
These include things like:
- Being in a favorable part of the right kind of galaxy
- Orbiting a star with long lifetime and bearable ultraviolet radiation
- Orbital distance that allowed liquid water to exist on one hand and far enough to not rotate in the same direction as the host star on the other
- A planetary tilt that allows atmospheric changes to be mild and not severe
- A molten core that protects the earth’s surface from solar radiation by generating significant global magnetic field
And so and so forth
The question that’s bothered generations of thinkers is- “Was it all random or designed”.
We have all believed in the higher power that’s created by design how the earth evolved.
But then we also have science telling us about the big bang, collisions Between dust particles, asteroids and other planets etc., etc.,
Randomly Designed
Non-repeating, non-biased and non-patterned sequence of values separates the random from the unpredictable.
Most of the time whether its your work, life, output or outcome, better career or better relationship, how we approach them is using existing experiences and mental maps that are predictable and comforting and failsafe in our head.
The idea of connecting remotely associated subjects through trial and error is not what our brain is used to.
However, often truly inventive/artistic or never seen before output is a result of connecting the unconnected.
Think about Coca Cola that was originally designed to cure morphine addiction. The original formulae were coca leaves (Cocaine) and Kola nuts and called French Wine Coca.
However, due to local prohibition law, alcoholic content had to be taken out leading to what we know today as Coca Cola.
This is how random the world can be.
Randomness Personified
Think trading or dating apps.
Data shows that over 90% of traders don’t make money in the markets and if they at all do, it might be a random trade that led them to success and not their skills.
Similarly in the realm of dating apps, reward for the hard work is matches.
Trading and dating apps use randomness to give users dopamine shots and keep them hooked.
Constantly being rewarded is as motivating as constantly being non-rewarded, it doesn’t excite you beyond a point.
However, random rewards create enough anticipation and excitement about “what’s next” helps keep up the rewarded behavior going for the thrill of not knowing when the reward will come.
Designed or Random
The design in trading or dating apps while appearing to be random are just pseudo-random.
AI and its usage will probably accentuate the use of randomness to entrap the users deeper.
The question is about human agency in this whole debate and no longer about randomness.
Those who know, they know the role of chance, cause and effect.
Right place, right time is an often-used statement to justify the role of randomness to what happens to us which seems undefinable.
The online mediums might trap you in a constant use loop but getting the trades right or finding the right partners or attaining that promotion in the job can continue to be as random as ever.
Years of looking, trading or hard work might remain unrewarded till a chance meeting, a chance trade or a chance event at work gets you what you worked for.
The credit doesn’t just go to the event and outcome but all those trades, swiping and work that inevitably created the situation which led to the trigger.
As Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s said-I was an overnight success all right, but Thirty years is a long, long night”.
By throwing paint on the wall that created a random set of meaningless shapes, Da Vinci put himself in a situation that triggered his thoughts in a different direction and helped him discover new ideas or art pieces.
The NASA Example
After the Hubble telescope failed, NASA engineer James Crocker was taking a shower and observed how the adjustable shower head could be extended in different ways for personal comfort and that led him to place corrective mirrors inside the telescope that could adjust it in the correct position.
This turned Hubble from a disaster to a success.
You can make the Random Happen?
When stuck in the creative situation, life, career or relationships, unless you put yourself in different situations, your outcomes would continue to be predictable and not magic.
As Rita Mae Brown (the novelist) said “Insanity is doing same thing over and over again and expecting different results” applies to everything.
Change your approach, keep the work going and then maybe, just maybe let randomness play its role and change your outcomes overnight.
*Peter Ward & Donald Brownlee
Irreverentinvestor.com 
The Rare Earth hypothesis, put forth by Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee, challenges the assumption that life, especially complex life, is common throughout the universe. It posits that the conditions leading to complex life on Earth are incredibly specific and unlikely to be repeated elsewhere. These conditions, from the Earth’s favorable position in the galaxy to the presence of a protective magnetic field, illustrate how a series of rare events and favorable circumstances led to the emergence of life as we know it.
Yet, the philosophical question of whether these conditions were the result of chance or design remains intriguing. On one hand, scientific explanations like the Big Bang and random cosmic events suggest a universe governed by chance and probability. On the other hand, the seeming precision and order in these processes might lead some to consider the possibility of intentional design.
The discussion of randomness is not limited to cosmology; it also touches on human endeavors such as creativity, trading, and relationships. The unpredictability of outcomes in these areas often mimics the randomness seen in nature. Whether in trading or dating apps, randomness plays a crucial role in keeping people engaged through unpredictable rewards, leveraging our psychological responses to uncertainty.
While randomness may appear chaotic, it is often the result of underlying patterns or causes. Seemingly random success stories—whether in careers, trades, or relationships—may not be entirely random, but rather the culmination of years of preparation, trial and error, and fortuitous circumstances. The key lies in continuously putting oneself in new situations, staying open to chance, and persisting in efforts, allowing randomness to play its role in shaping outcomes.
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