The University of Maryland's CMNS Dean's Distinguished Lecture on March 8, 2021 was given by Sean B. Carroll, Distinguished University Professor & Balo-Simon Endowed Chair in the Department of Biology. His talk was titled "A Series of Fortunate Events: Chance and the Making of the Planet, Life, and You."
Why is the planet the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but over the past half-century, startling scientific discoveries have revealed that we live in a world driven by chance. Sean Carroll told the stories of the mother of all accidents, the accident of all mothers, and much more in an entertaining and awe-inspiring tale of the surprising power of chance in our lives and the world.
