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on another occasion； while poisoning himself with elevated levels of oxygen； haldane hada fit so severe that he crushed several vertebrae。 collapsed lungs were a routine hazard。
perforated eardrums were quite mon； but； as haldane reassuringly noted in one of hisessays； “the drum generally heals up； and if a hole remains in it； although one is somewhatdeaf； one can blow tobacco smoke out of the ear in question； which is a socialacplishment。”
what was extraordinary about this was not that haldane was willing to subject himself tosuch risk and disfort in the pursuit of science； but that he had no trouble talkingcolleagues and loved ones into climbing into the chamber； too。 sent on a simulated descent；his wife once had a fit that lasted thirteen minutes。 when at last she stopped bouncing acrossthe floor； she was helped to her feet and sent home to cook dinner。 haldane happily employedwhoever happened to be around； including on one memorable occasion a former primeminister of spain； juan negrín。 dr。 negrín plained afterward of minor tingling and “acurious velvety sensation on the lips” but otherwise seems to have escaped unharmed。 he mayhave considered himself very lucky。 a similar experiment with oxygen deprivation lefthaldane without feeling in his buttocks and lower spine for six years。
among haldane’s many specific preoccupations was nitrogen intoxication。 for reasons thatare still poorly understood； beneath depths of about a hundred feet nitrogen bees apowerful intoxicant。 under its influence divers had been known to offer their air hoses topassing fish or decide to try to have a smoke break。 it also produced wild mood swings。 inone test； haldane noted； the subject “alternated between depression and elation； at onemoment begging to be depressed because he felt ‘bloody awful’ and the next minutelaughing and attempting to interfere with his colleague’s dexterity test。” in order to measure the rate of deterioration in the subject； a scientist had to go into the chamber with thevolunteer to conduct simple mathematical tests。 but after a few minutes； as haldane laterrecalled； “the tester was usually as intoxicated as the testee； and often forgot to press thespindle of his stopwatch； or to take proper notes。” the cause of the inebriation is even now amystery。 it is thought that it may be the same thing that causes alcohol intoxication； but as noone knows for certain what causes that we are none the wiser。 at all events； without thegreatest care； it is easy to get in trouble once you leave the surface world。
which brings us back （well； nearly） to our earlier observation that earth is not the easiestplace to be an organism； even if it is the only place。 of the small portion of the planet’ssurface that is dry enough to stand on； a surprisingly large amount is too hot or cold or dry orsteep or lofty to be of much use to us。 partly； it must be conceded； this is our fault。 in terms ofadaptability； humans are pretty amazingly useless。 like most animals； we don’t much likereally hot places； but because we sweat so freely and easily stroke； we are especiallyvulnerable。 in the worst circumstances—on foot without water in a hot desert—most peoplewill grow delirious and keel over； possibly never to rise again； in no more than six or sevenhours。 we are no less helpless in the face of cold。 like all mammals； humans are good atgenerating heat but—because we are so nearly hairless—not good at keeping it。 even in quitemild weather half the calories you burn go to keep your body warm。 of course； we cancounter these frailties to a large extent by employing clothing and shelter； but even so theportions of earth on which we are prepared or able to live are modest indeed： just 12 percentof the total land area； and only 4 percent of the whole surface if you include the seas。
yet when you consider conditions elsewhere in the known universe； the wonder is not thatwe use so little of our planet but that we have managed to find a planet that we can use even abit of。 you have only to look at our own solar system—or； e to that； earth at certainperiods in its own history—to appreciate that most places are much harsher and much lessamenable to life than our mild； blue watery globe。
so far space scientists have discovered about seventy planets outside the solar system； outof the ten billion trillion or so that are thought to be out there； so humans can hardly claim tospeak with authority on the matter； but it appears that if you wish to have a planet suitable forlife； you have to be just awfully lucky； and the more advanced the life； the luckier you have tobe。 various observers have identified about two dozen particularly helpful breaks we havehad on earth； but this is a flying survey so we’ll distill them down to the principal four。 theyare：
excellent location。we are； to an almost uncanny degree； the right distance from the right sortof star； one that is big enough to radiate lots of energy； but not so big as to burn itself outswiftly。 it is a curiosity of physics that the larger a star the more rapidly it burns。 had our sunbeen ten times as massive； it would have exhausted itself after ten million years instead of tenbillion and we wouldn’t be here now。 we are also fortunate to orbit where we do。 too muchnearer and everything on earth would have boiled away。 much farther away and everythingwould have frozen。
in 1978； an astrophysicist named michael hart made some calculations and concluded thatearth would have been uninhabitable had it been just 1 percent farther from or 5 percent closer to the sun。 that’s not much； and in fact it wasn’t enough。 the figures have since beenrefined and made a little more generous—5 percent nearer and 15 percent farther are thoughtto be more accurate assessments for our zone of habitability—but that is still a narrow belt。
1to appreciate just how narrow； you have only to look at venus。 venus is only twenty…fivemillion miles closer to the sun than we are。 the sun’s warmth reaches it just two minutesbefore it touches us。 in size and position； venus is very like earth； but the smalldifference in orbital distance made all the difference to how it turned out