We’re Luckier Than We Think

Though it’s hardly a new idea, I’d like to take a moment and point out how incredibly unlikely it is that we’re having this “conversation” right now.  We’re all aware that we live on a “Goldilocks” planet, i.e., one that’s just the right distance from the sun such that the temperature ranges support liquid water; that its rotation allows its surface to cool off nicely at night; that it has lots of carbon on board (an atom that can form more molecules necessary to life than all other elements combined); that it has large planets in its solar system that protect it from comets; that its atmosphere absorbs cosmic rays and its ozone layer absorbs UV light; that it has a magnetic field to divert solar flares, that its core contains radioactive materials whose breakdown generates the heat to produce the movement of tectonic plates responsible for subducting excess CO2, etc.

But how about this one? How does the matter in the universe exist at all?  Most of the putative building blocks of the universe, quarks, are colliding with anti-quarks and mutually annihilating all the time.  There just happens to be more matter in the universe than there is anti-matter.  Why?  Heck if I know.

What I do know is this: Next time you’re feeling down because you’re stuck in traffic or your kid brings home a less-than-dazzling report card, you may want to give that some thought.