1. Scientific Theories and Laws
2. The First Decade (1936-1946)
4. The Second Decade (1946-1956)
6. The Third Decade (1956-1966)
8. The Fourth Decade (1966-1976)
10. The Fifth Decade (1976-1986)
12. The Sixth Decade (1986-1996)
14. The Seventh Decade (1996-2006)
15. The Theory of More than Everything
16. The Eighth Decade (2006-2016)
18. The Ninth Decade (2016-2026)
Appendix A Paintings
Appendix B TTOMTE and a Steady State Universe
Appendix C Musical Compositions
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The Earth forces species to split and evolve, but a crucial change may take a billion years to complete. On the other hand, a flu virus may evolve in only a few days in order to survive any new drug we might try.
Chance has a place in evolution, so we need to be clear when we talk about chance starting with some simple examples.
What are the chances you'll win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket? No chance at all, about the same as if you bought a ticket. What are the chances you'll get hit by lightning? Much better.
We use the word chance when we can't predict a particular outcome or determine the cause, but we might not be looking in the right place. In our history, we've found causes for events we used to think came about by pure chance. In fact, science spends a lot of its time looking for causes. If we can find the cause, we can start giving a percentage of how likely an event will take place. Years ago, some people got polio, and some didn't. We thought a particular person contracted the disease by chance, but when we discovered the cause, we brought the chance down to zero with a vaccine.
What are the chances of rolling a six on one die? We say one in six. Are odds set because of pure chance? Maybe, maybe not. On a die, the dots are indented causing every side to react to airflow a little differently. If we throw the die with our hand, the side with one spot has more surface area contacting our sweaty palm. At least it will sweat if the stakes are high enough.
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