Has there been life for 1/4 of the age of the Universe?

Universe started: 13.7 billion years ago
Solar system formed: 4.6 billion years ago
First life on earth: 3.5 billion years agoUnless I'm mistaken about those figures, that means that the earth has existed for about 1/3 the age of the Universe, and life for about a quarter. Does anybody else find that a bit strange?I've always assumed that the universe has been exanding for aeons, and millions of universes have been born and died on the way. But it actually looks like we're in at the beginning (relatively speaking, of course).Edited by JavaMan, : No reason given.

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'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

Hello. I know I'm not a very exciting post - not very controversial, no axe to grind, no personal insults - but I would appreciate some kind of a response, even if it's a rejection. (Although obviously I'd rather be loved )

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'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

OK I'll bite. I think it's kind of an interesting topic myself, though I think you should say more about your thinking on the subject, about why you find it so surprising, what you think the implications are.And which forum you would like it sent to.Edited by AdminFaith, : No reason given.Edited by AdminFaith, : No reason given.

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Sorry about that.Your last sentences are confusing. Do you mean to say it is odd that we are in the first universe to have been born? If so this could a Big Bang/Cosmology issue.Or is the subject that it is odd that life started so early in the life of any given universe. In which case it could be a'Origin of life' topic.Or perhaps the argument is a sort of 'fine tuning' based discussion. In which case, Intelligent Design might be the forum for it.Where you going with it?

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I think it's an Origin of Life topic. I left the opening post a bit loose because I want to know what other people feel about it. (And also because I was expecting a virtual ear-bashing from one of the expert astrophysicists or cosmologists for getting my figures wrong ).If the figures are correct, I'm really staggered that I've never heard anyone mention it before. In discussions about the origin of life one gets the impression that the odds against life developing are astronomical, but the timeline I've outlined in the opening post suggests to me either that the universe is far older than suggested by Big Bang theory, or that life is far more likely to develop than we customarily assume.Maybe I'm over-reacting because I've only just figured this timeline out, but it does seem worth a bit of discussion to me.

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'I can't even fit all my wife's clothes into a suitcase for travelling. So you want me to believe we're going to put all of the planets and stars and everything into a sandwich bag?' - q3psycho on the Big Bang

Go for it.

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Thread copied to the Has there been life for 1/4 of the age of the Universe? thread in the Origin of Life forum, this copy of the thread has been closed.