Quotes About Improbability

Think about the love of your life and the countless events that had to happen as they did to bring the two of you together. (...) Once, it was vanishingly unlikely that you two would meet. And yet, you did. What do you make of that? Most people don' think "Wow, what luck!" Instead, they take the sheer improbability of it happening, and the fact it happened, as proof it was meant to happen.

It was exceedingly improbable that he would ever see the men again, but, as my father said, you never knew. Always worth approaching every man you met as if he might become your best friend in the world.

The idea that He would take his attention away from the universe in order to give me a bicycle with three speeds is just so unlikely that I can't go along with it.

As human beings, we are vulnerable to confusing the unprecedented with the improbable. In our everyday experience, if something has never happened before, we are generally safe in assuming it is not going to happen in the future, but the exceptions can kill you and climate change is one of those exceptions.

You are all there, the people in the city. I can't believe I was ever among you. When you are away from a city it becomes a fantasy. Any town, New York, Chicago, with its people, becomes improbable with distance. Just as I am improbable here, in Illinois, in a small town by a quiet lake. All of us improbable to one another because we are not present to one another. And it is so good to hear the sounds, and know that Mexico City is still there and the people moving and living.

because everyone's life is full of absurdity, improbability, and general craziness.

as Aristotle might say, it is an improbable-possible.

In an infinite Universe anything can happen, said Ford, Even survival. Strange but true.

anything that was Infinitely Improbable was actually very likely to happen almost immediately.

Sherlock Holmes observed that once you have eliminated the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the answer. I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy says that if you hold a lungful of air you can survive in the total vacuum of space for about thirty seconds. However, it does go on to say that what with space being the mindboggling size it is the chances of getting picked up by another ship within those thirty seconds are two to the power of two hundred and seventy-six thousand seven hundred and nine to one against.

What was the Sherlock Holmes principle? 'Once you have discounted the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' " "I reject that entirely," said Dirk sharply. "The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it which the merely improbable lacks.

Sensational new breakthrough in Improbability Physics. As soon as the ship's drive reaches Infinite Improbability it passes through every point in the Universe. Be the envy of other major governments.' Wow, this is big league stuff." Ford hunted excitedly through the technical specs of the ship, occasionally gasping with astonishment at what he read— clearly Galactic astrotechnology had moved ahead during the years of his exile.

Why doesn't anyone turn on this Improbability Drive thing?" he said. "We could probably reach that." "What are you, crazy?" said Zaphod. "Without proper programming anything could happen.

The ship did. All by itself." "Huh?" "While we were in Improbability Drive." "But that's incredible." "No, Zaphod. Just very very improbable.

He should have known it was all wrong the moment they started hanging grand pianos over the sea-monster pool in the atrium.

Trillian punched up the figures. They showed two-to-the-power-of-Infinity-minus-one to one against (an irrational number that only has a conventional meaning in Improbability Physics).

Infinity minus one," chattered the computer. "Improbability sum now complete.

If such a thing is a virtual impossibility, then it must logically be a finite improbability.

I'm afraid you cannot leave,' said Zarniwoop, 'you are entwined in the Improbability Field. You cannot escape.' He smiled the smile that Zaphod had wanted to hit and this time Zaphod hit it.

When the Infinite Improbability Drive arrived and whole planets started unexpectedly turning into banana fruitcake, the great history faculty of the University of MaxiMegalon finally gave up, closed itself down and surrendered its buildings to the rapidly growing joint faculty of Divinity and Water Polo, which had been after them for years. Which

That's very good thinking, you know. Turn on the Improbability Drive for a second without first activating the proofing screens. Hey, kid, you just saved our lives, you know that?" "Oh," said Arthur, "well, it was nothing really …." "Was it?" said Zaphod. "Oh well, forget it then. Okay, computer, take us in to land." "But …" "I said forget it.

One moment I was sitting in your ship feeling very depressed, and the next moment I was standing here feeling utterly miserable. An Improbability Field I expect.

What's a whelk got to do with a supernova?' said Arthur. 'It doesn't,' said Ford levelly