Currently in the West, there are two main theories about the life on earth.

There is 'Creation Theory', based on theological teaching that God created life. Secondly, 'Evolution Theory' as proposed by Darwin in which life started by chance and the fittest creatures survived.

There is third way: a combination of the two theories.

There is still no evidence of the 'missing link' between the ancestral ape and homosapiens. It is increasingly likely, and not at all difficult to accept, that our species was created. The mapping of the genome, cloning of animals, etc. indicates that genetic engineering is rapidly advancing. (To those that roamed the earth in the Middle Ages these developments in the biological sciences are the stuff of the supernatural and totally incomprehensible - can you explain the cloning process?). This rapid advance would indicate that creation of life itself must be a future skill of the human being.

Therefore, Gardiner's Number is the average length of time taken between an organism being created and one of its evolved descendants creating life itself.

In geochemical terms this recreation process is a rapid cycle, like waves on the beach of time. It follows that Gardiner's number will be determined with some accuracy by the gods of tomorrow.