Entropy
Entropy
Dictionary.com defines Entropy as a thermodynamic quality of the known universe wherein everything (and that’s a really big “everything”) degenerates from order to disorder.
Living entities, like you and I, eventually die and devolve from a well-ordered, highly organized human mechanism to, well, fertilizer. Those millions of neural networks cease to transmit information and those millions of genetic markers in every cell of our bodies, quit doing the job of replication.
Personal Entropy
Last week, my doctor ordered some tests related to adverse medical issues I’ve been suffering. The tests showed that the issues were short-term and not a serious threat to my health. But, oh yeah, the tests uncovered other, non-related issues that now must be tested and dealt with. This is not the first time I’ve had medical tests that flagged unforeseen potential issues, but it may be the last.
I drive a 14-year-old truck that’s suffering from entropy and beginning to show its age. Lots of little stuff is wearing out along with one or two major things. The question is, “Do I keep fixing this old truck, or say adios and look for a replacement?” It’s been a great vehicle for all these years and I’m a bit attached to it. Likewise, my 69-year-old body has served me well for a lot of years, but I’m wondering when the repair nuisances outweigh just letting nature take its course.
Don’t go turning me in to social services because I’m not considering taking any shortcuts, but I do tend to believe that we all face the inevitable by clinging a little too tightly to the here and now.
Social Entropy
It doesn’t take a professional historian to see that great societies have sprung up throughout history, only to wither and die over time. Some societies — presumably due to the superiority of their underpinnings — have lasted longer than the average. And some, not so long.
The overwhelming similarity in every single case is entropy (the movement away from the original, ordered social foundation to a chaotic “me-focused” mentality of those who have benefited from that very foundational stability). Every organization — every corporation, every social institute, every culture — undergoes that identical decay, and everything on this planet that you and I have put our faith in is destined for the same end.
Depressing? Only if we’re putting our faith in people and things to provide our reason for living. Perhaps we just need to start seeking a higher form of order.
staying awake at night fretting about you? Let’s meet for coffee and trade tails of ownership woe.
Let’s talk. I’d really like to hear what you have to say, and it might even give me something to write about. Email me at guy@lawsoncomm.com.
I’ll buy you coffee and we can compare notes. I promise not to steal your ideas without permission.
It is so easy to become more attached to the gifts of God than to the Giver.
— Watchman Nee
Signals of Transcendence
— Oz Guinness
Guinness may be one of the last great rational thinkers of our age. He’s extremely educated but, more important, he exhibits a propensity for contemplating and understanding life. While he doesn’t promote a judgmental attitude, he also doesn’t shy away from dividing truth from emotionalist b.s.
A meeting of great minds who think alike
