In light of such a number, the time scale issue becomes completely irrelevant. What does it matter if every possible planet in the universe has been around for 10 seconds, 10 billion years, or 10 quadrillion years? Even if all the matter in the visible universe were converted into the building blocks of life, and even if, by some unknown means, assembly of these building blocks proceeded randomly once every microsecond for the entire age of the universe, the odds would improve by a barely perceptible