If two dice are used, the odds of throwing two sixes are greatly multiplied because there are now thirty six possible outcomes for every throw. Only one of these throws will result in a double six, so the odds of throwing it are therefore one in thirty six. The greater the number of dice, the greater the odds are against throwing any particular combination of numbers; and, of course, if each die had more than six sides - as is effectively the case in the national lottery - the odds become even greater. The odds of winning on the lottery are calculated to be one in fourteen million, which is greater than the chance of being struck by lightning.

In roulette, the odds of red or black coming up are slightly greater than one in two: this is because the number zero on a roulette wheel is deemed to be neither red nor black. The well publicised way to break the bank at Monte Carlo, is to bet on red (or black) and if you lose, to double your stake and continue to bet on red (or black) - it doesn’t matter which colour, as long as you are consistent. Although you might need a large amount of capital, this strategy will ultimately pay off because eventually the ball will land in the colour you have chosen and you will collect; and you will also effectively redeem all your lost bets by virtue of the doubling of the stake at each throw. As you might expect, casinos have outlawed this strategy.

Concerning the possible existence of life on other planets, although the evidence is subject to interpretation, it is currently fashionable amongst scientists to accept the likelihood on grounds of probability alone. The reasoning goes like this: given the myriad of solar systems similar to our own, there is a statistical probability that conditions similar to those which exist on Earth will exist on a significantly large number of other planets in the universe. It has been reported that astronomers studying data from the Hubble telescope have discovered two planets which may be suitable hosts, approximately fourty light years away from Earth. If it is accepted that life has evolved upon the Earth given nothing more than suitable conditions, then it follows that there is a high probability that life will also have evolved elsewhere.

Note that the idea is derived from the premise that life has spontaneously evolved upon Earth in the first case. The theory which advocates the spontaneous appearance of life on Earth is, in turn, based upon probability. A picture of this concept which has often been used to illustrate the process says that an infinite number of monkeys bashing away on an infinite number of typewriters will ultimately produce the complete works of Shakespeare. This will happen because there is only a finite number of letters which make up the Shakespeare plays so, given an infinity of time and an infinity of resources, random processes would eventually turn up that very combination of letters. It is argued that in a similar manner, the rolling of the biological dice would eventually produce the DNA necessary for evolutionary processes to establish life upon the Earth.