Why the World Is the Way the World Is

In an op-ed column in the WSJ over New Year's Day weekend, Professor Steven Pinker suggested that the second law of thermodynamics is a scientific term or concept that should be more widely known.

The Second Law states that "in an isolated system (one that is not taking in energy), entropy always increases over time . . . thus, closed systems inexorably become less structured, less organized, less able to accomplish interesting and useful outcomes, until they slide into an equilibrium of gray, tepid monotony and stay there."

So Pinker thinks that we need to understand that term better and apply it to ordinary life.  Why?

Pinker answers by stating that the Second Law "defines the ultimate purpose of life, mind and striving:  to deploy energy and information to fight back the tide of entropy and carve our refuges of beneficial order."  As he puts it, "an underappreciation for the Second Law lures people into seeing every unsolved social problem as a sign that the world is being driven off a cliff.  But it is in the very nature of the universe that life has problems.  it's better to figure out how to solve them, by applying information and energy to expand our niche of life-enhancing order."

Our world works because we have things to do, because we need each other, because we fix things that are broken.  Economies work because people need or want things, and they need or want other people to produce them for them.  When my dryer breaks down, the repairman has a job.  When the grass needs cutting, the landscapers have work.  When I need heat in the winter, it gives the energy industry (and even the wood deliverers work).  As we push back the tide of entropy, we create opportunity for others.  When I clutter up the house, Gloria has work to do.  When I host a party, the caterers do.  When I am sick, doctors have work.

We have a never-ending source of things to do; and that is a good thing.

In some sense, we unite heaven and earth when we push back against entropy.  It may be frustrating at times, but it occupies us and gives us meaning and purpose.  As we crawl out of the Technology Revolution and work our way toward what the modern economy will look like, it's important, I think, to remember to look for the next area of need, where entropy has set in, and work together to solve those fresh new problems.