Douglas Adams (1952-2001) was an English writer best known for his legendary, Earth-shatteringly-awesome The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy radio series and novels (should I even mention the movie or shall we pretend that never happened?). I first read the books in my late-teens and instantly fell in love with them – the fantastical plot, the science, the absurd humour and the constant poking fun at humanity were just brilliant. They remain the funniest books I’ve ever read.

This inspirational quote was an answer given by Adams to the question ‘What is it about science that really gets your blood running?’ and was also read in a eulogy by Richard Dawkins at Adams’ funeral. It’s so true, the odds that the Earth exists, can support life, that that life evolved into conscious beings that are self-aware, that those beings developed civilisation, science, art and technology (granted, we also invented war, nuclear weapons and Justin Bieber) are so ridiculously high that we should all be walking around in a perpetual state of glassy-eyed wonder.