What is entropy?
- Entropy measures the degree of disorder or randomness in a system. Speaking on the micro-level, this means the degree of disorder amongst the sub-atomic particles across the universe.
- The entropy of the universe is constantly increasing. Why? Energy continuously flows from higher to lower concentrations, increasing the disorder of sub-atomic particles (primarily electrons). This is the second amongst the Laws of Thermodynamics.
The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.
-Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time
- Sun and other stars continuously radiate energy all across the universe, facilitating energy flow from higher to lower. Over a significantly long time, energy will have to be redistributed such that there won’t be any difference in energy levels, i.e., the temperature of different objects.
- During this energy transfer, the total entropy of the system increases. Since the energy is constantly flowing in the same pattern, all such energy transfers would increase the system’s entropy.
Relationship with time
- Entropy- for all practical purposes, is evidence of the existence of time. Time always moves forward. It’s a non-reversible process where entropy is constantly increasing, which cannot be reversed.
- todo (Dive deeper into time-entropy relationship and arrow of time)
Entropy in business
- All around yourself, you’ll see coworkers making mistakes, leadership not being able to pass on the message efficiently, and so on. All of these are a manifestation of increasing entropy.
- With time, businesses also tend to move towards a more disordered state. As several people and breadth/depth of business increases, there are more points where things can go wrong, and they do, inherently increasing disorder (entropy).
- For bringing them in order, external energy (management, control, etc) is required (not just energy, but efficient energy that gets converted into work done). Therefore, for a business to tread along the path required, they need to be managed and ordered in a certain way to efficiently utilise the energy.
- There are obviously other factors like self-organisation, etc at play here, but entropy explains a lot of problems.
- A business can reverse the impact of entropy. A fine balance needs to exist between creativity (random use of energy) and control (efficient use of energy).
Entropy in society
- Every society which is ordered and structured is relatively stable and peaceful compared to disordered and unstructured societies.
- Left without order and control, humans innate desires will kick in. Murder, rape, genocide will take over.
- The reduction of social entropy tends to require a stable government, active law enforcement, an organised economy, meaningful employment for a high percentage of people, infrastructure, and education.
- We can say that Social contract is a mechanism we humans have invented to subvent increasing entropy of the universe. Basically, an attempt to go against the natural state of affairs.
- Disorder is not a mistake, it’s the default. Order is always artificial and temporary.