I've heard similar analogies before. They strike me as unimaginative. On Earth, life is obviously abundant. How many atoms make up Earth? If we were to shrink the Universe to the size of the Earth, our search for life in the Earth-sized Universe is the equivalent of searching one atom. I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but you get the idea. How about something much larger than an atom, say, for example, a grain of sand. How many grains of sand would have to be searched before stumbling upon life?
It depends what beach you're on.;^)
It may be unimaginative, but it is also true.
The nice things about math and physics is that constant and we can use them to learn about things we cannot perceive directly (like the whole of the Universe).
The odds I gave were calculated based on the likelihood of all the various requirements needed to form the Universe we observe. The odds of intelligent life forming were based on the likelihood of 1) the proper building blocks for life being present, and 2) the likelihood that these building blocks would evolve into something intelligent.
If you don't like the odds, then attack their basis.
There are a lot of things I don't like, but unfortunately my not liking them doesn't make them any less true.
Tuor