The Nature of Inhabitable Planets in the Universe For the sake of this discussion, some ground rules need to be established. I will use "¥" to represent the value of infinity, and I will follow the rules regarding the use of infinity according to my TI-89 calculator. It is also assumed that there is an infinite quantity of planets in the universe. Therefore, there also must be an infinite amount of inhabitable, earth-like planets in our universe. When the big bang occurred billions of years ago, all the matter in the universe was created in one immense moment. However, determining the precise amount of matter created during this cosmic beginning would be impossible. It is illogical to believe that the exact quantity of material that was created could ever be tallied. However, it is rational to assume that an infinite amount of matter was created during the big-bang explosion, because any other value would be trivial, illogical, and highly suspect. There is no reason that this cataclysm would have created a specific amount of matter; therefore, the only logical solution is that an infinite amount of matter was created during the big bang. Once this infinite amount of cosmic particles began to take form as planets and stars, a very few planets were positioned at precisely the correct distance from their sun to harbor life. This was probably a rare event, but it did occur countless times as the universe was taking shape. Because the amount of matter in the universe is infinite, it would be impossible for a finite amount of inhabitable planets to exist. Simple analytical thinking prevents this notion. In order to calculate the number of inhabitable planets in our universe, one is tempted create a ratio, consisting of the amount of inhabitable planets divided by the number of planets in total: Inhabitable Planets * 100% Total Planets In the above example, the amount of total planets is equal to infinity, because an infinite amount of matter would logically produce an infinite number of planets. However, mathematics will tell us that any non-infinite number divided by infinity will result in a number so infinitely small that it is, for all practical purposes, equal to zero: 10 * 100% == 0% ¥ In usual circumstances, this method of determining a percentage (of parts to a whole) is acceptable. However this way of determining a ratio is illogical when working with infinity. Because every planet in existence has not been examined (and indeed this is impossible), no constant term can be arrived at. It is impossible to provide a constant value for the number of inhabitable planets in the universe; as a result, another method of forming a percentage must be utilized. But even if one were to attempt to determine a ratio using the accepted formula, a logical ratio could never be produced. For the sake of this discussion, I will define the ratio of inhabitable planets to total planets as 1/9. If one attempted to create a ratio using this gross estimation, one would not be able to arrive at a logical answer: 1 * ¥ == undefined 9 * ¥ The ratio must be set up in this manner because for every one inhabitable planet, there are nine total planets. However, if a person attempted to use this formula in another situation the answer would be acceptable. Imagine a school where, for every twelve students, five passed an exam. It would be a simple task to determine the ratio of students that passed the exam in a class of 300: 1 * 300 == 1 12 * 300 _ 12 This example proves that the ratio of 1/12 is acceptable. It would also be a simple matter to determine the number of students that passed the exam in a class of 300: 1 * 300 == 25 12 Using this logic, it is understandable to assume that this formula should apply in every case. However, because the ratio of inhabitable planets to existing planets cannot be undefined, 1 * ¥ == undefined 9 * ¥ the infinity term must be removed from the expression. By doing this, we can arrive at a rational percentage: 1 == 1 9 ___ 9 This ratio is still valid because, as was explained in the test scores example, the number of data members (300 in this example) can be removed from the equation and the ratio will remain intact: 1 * 300 == 1 12 * 300 _ 12 Although the rules of mathematics would seem to disprove this idea when dealing with infinity, there is a point when logic takes precedence over pure fact. By making this slight modification to accepted mathematics, it would be a simple task to determine the approximate ratio of inhabitable planets to existing planets. In order to arrive at the most precise ratio possible, every known planet must be included. (It is impossible to arrive at an exact ratio due to the fact that the number of planets is infinite.) Once an approximate ratio has been calculated, finding the number of inhabitable planets in our universe can be attained by multiplying the ratio by the number of data members (infinity in this example): 1 * ¥ == ¥ 9 Therefore, the number of inhabitable planets in the universe would be infinite. Despite the fact that conventional mathematics must be altered slightly to arrive at the final result, logic tells us that this is the only reasonable solution. As the number of existing planets increases, the number of inhabitable planets also increases, although at a slower rate. Because the number of planets is infinite, the number of inhabitable planets must also be infinite. Not every planet in the universe would be inhabitable, but due to the fact that the number of both the existing and inhabitable planets increase forever, the number of inhabitable planets must also be infinite. [What is a Hero?] Previous Rant Index Next [Getting a Girl]

Additional Information This essay is not meant to be a scientific proof, theory, etc. I was asked the question by someone who was reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and I decided to write something to prove him wrong...

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