Loved it! I imagine you are aware that there has been some attempts to explain complexity in the face of the 2nd law of thermodynamics. I barely know the argument, but it seems to boil down to the idea that complex structures are actually a very efficient way to disperse the energy of the universe.
Loved it! I imagine you are aware that there has been some attempts to explain complexity in the face of the 2nd law of thermodynamics. I barely know the argument, but it seems to boil down to the idea that complex structures are actually a very efficient way to disperse the energy of the universe.
Thanks Bonny! Yes, it's fascinating to look at the laws of thermodynamics through an evolutionary lens. I've been reading, and thinking, about them a lot. Peter Atkins' The Laws of Thermodynamics is a great primer. Every Life Is On Fire, by Jeremy England, has a take on them that manages to be rigorously scientific and also poetic, even spiritual... They crop up a lot in Life's Ratchet, by Peter Hoffmann, and Transformer, by Nick Lane... You're right, though, complexity and the second law are so deeply entangled. (Hmmm, I feel a post coming on...)
Loved it! I imagine you are aware that there has been some attempts to explain complexity in the face of the 2nd law of thermodynamics. I barely know the argument, but it seems to boil down to the idea that complex structures are actually a very efficient way to disperse the energy of the universe.
Thanks Bonny! Yes, it's fascinating to look at the laws of thermodynamics through an evolutionary lens. I've been reading, and thinking, about them a lot. Peter Atkins' The Laws of Thermodynamics is a great primer. Every Life Is On Fire, by Jeremy England, has a take on them that manages to be rigorously scientific and also poetic, even spiritual... They crop up a lot in Life's Ratchet, by Peter Hoffmann, and Transformer, by Nick Lane... You're right, though, complexity and the second law are so deeply entangled. (Hmmm, I feel a post coming on...)