@sunshine62 said:

Does anyone know the meaning behind the title?

Kane:

"In order for life to appear spontaneously on earth, there first had to be hundreds of millions of protein molecules of the ninth configuration. But given the size of the planet Earth, do you know how long it would take for just one of these protein molecules to appear entirely by chance? Roughly 10 to the 243rd power billions of years. And I find that far, far more fantastic than simply believing in God."

The title refers to a sentence from the book "Human Destiny (1947)" by French biophysicist and philosopher Pierre Lecomte du Noüy:

"The probability that a configuration of a degree of dissymmetry 0.9"

It has been bastardized to the cooler-sounding "Ninth Configuration",

The sentences at the end of the above dialogue refer to another sentence from the book:

"we find that the time needed to form, on an average, one such molecule (degree of dissymmetry 0.9) in a material volume equal to that of our terrestrial globe is about 10²⁴³ billions of years (1 followed by 243 zeros)."

Excerpts from the book "Human Destiny (1947)":

These calculations were made by Professor Charles-Eugène Guye for a molecule of dissymmetrical degree 0.9, when the number of constituent atoms is equal to 2000. To simplify the problem considerably the atoms constituting this imaginary protein molecule are considered as being of two species only, whereas there is always a minimum of four: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, plus either copper, iron or sulphur, etc. The atomic weight of these atoms being supposed equal to 10 — another simplification — the molecular weight is 20,000. This figure is probably lower than that of the most simple proteins. ("Egg albumin 34,500.)

The probability that a configuration of a degree of dissymmetry 0.9 would appear under these arbitrarily simplified conditions which make it more probable, would be, (if chance alone is considered):

2.02 X 10^-321 or 2.02 X 1/10³²¹

The volume of substance necessary for such a probability to take place is beyond all imagination. It would be that of a sphere with a radius so great that light would take 10⁸² years to cover this distance. The volume is incomparably greater than that of the whole universe including the farthest galaxies, whose light takes only 2 X 10⁶ (two million) years to reach us. In brief, we would have to imagine a volume more than one sextillion, sextillion, sextillion times greater than the Einsteinian universe (Charles-Eugène Guye).

The probability for a single molecule of high dissymmetry to be formed by the action of chance and normal thermic agitation remains practically nil. Indeed, if we suppose 500 trillion shakings per second (5 X 10¹⁴) , which corresponds to the order of magnitude of light frequencies (wave lengths comprised between 0.4 and 0.8 microns), we find that the time needed to form, on an average, one such molecule (degree of dissymmetry 0.9) in a material volume equal to that of our terrestrial globe is about 10²⁴³ billions of years (1 followed by 243 zeros).

First off, thanks wonder 2wonder.

I agree. The Ninth Configuration sounds cool.

As for "The probability that a configuration of a degree of dissymmetry 0.9," it's English but might as well have been Arab because it doesn't mean anything to a simple lass like me.

I can see why it was chosen for the film which is centered on Cutshaw, who doubts God exists.

I don't think Kane's sacrifice made Cutshaw change his mind about God at the time.

but then the story fast forwards and we see Cutshaw visiting the castle years later..he has moved up in command I think...he doesn't look particularly happy walking around inside ..only on leaving when he finds the medallion in the car is Cutshaw joyous ( Kane promised Cutshaw he'd send proof of an afterlife if there were one) I think the medallion was the one Cutshaw had given to Kane.

Finally, Cutshaw believes God exists and, together with Kane, is watching over him.