# Entropy Entropy permeates our every endeavor and has a natural tendency to **always increases over time**. There are more ways that things can go wrong than right. There are many disordered states and few ordered ones. [[Murphy's Law]] > Entropy is a measure of disorder. And there are always far more disorderly variations than orderly ones ![[Pasted image 20210626210039.png]] ### The second law of thermodynamics > Disorder in the universe always increases, as it increases energy is transformed into less useful forms. Thus, the efficiency of any process will always be less than 100% - In the long run, nothing escapes the Second Law of Thermodynamics. *The pull of entropy is relentless. Everything decays. Disorder always increases.* ### Without effort, life tends to lose order Life has a tendency to cause trouble, lose structure & make things difficult if forgotten about / not tended to well: - Sand castles get washed away. - Weeds overtake gardens. - Ancient ruins crumble. - Cars begin to rust. - People gradually age. Problems arise naturally, things get more complicated, less organized & gradually decline into disorder other than remaining simple & structured. `` Solutions always require attention, energy & effort.`` ### Why Art & Beauty are so aesthetically pleasing - Artists create a form of order & symmetry that, odds are, the universe might never generate on it's own - It's so rare in the grand scheme of things - the no. of combinations that are beautiful from all the combinations out there are just a handful - Asymmetry is more likely than symmetry ### Why Optimal Lives are designed not discovered - Each of us have an unique combination of talents, skills & interests specific to us. - Society is not designed with your specific attributes in mind - Evolutionary biologists call "fish out of water" situations - mismatch conditions - in these conditions it is difficult to be useful, to win, to succeed - You have to create those conditions & design your life to get there, it's not going to just come to you - Entropy makes sure it doesn't or is highly highly unlikely to ### Take Aways - the odds for a system to find order w/o energy expenditure are overwhelmingly low - usually one possible state / combination that represents order / the right answer - infinite states / combinations that represent disorder / wrong answers - you have to expend energy to create stability, structure and simplicity - to counteract the natural tendency of entropy - we cannot reverse entropy, but in the short term - we can create pockets of order. - If results are not coming, move on. It is not bad to move on from things faster. > “The ultimate purpose of life, mind, and human striving: to deploy energy and information to fight back the tide of entropy and carve out refuges of beneficial order.” —Steven Pinker ---- Links: [[Laws of Thermodynamics]] | [[First Principles and Mental Models MoC]] #firstprinciple #concept