There
is a very simple reason why “life” exists, or living organisms exist, and that is entropy. Entropy
is an unusual physics concept that is really just another word for
“disorder.” Entropy is a measure of disorder.
The greater the entropy then
the greater the disorder there is.
For
example, if a number of shoe boxes are neatly stacked in a regular and organized
pile in the center of the room, there is less entropy in the room (i.e. less disorder) than if the boxes are
thrown about the room haphazard and their contents are all spilled out.
The
Universe appears to follow the Three Laws of Thermodynamics. According to the Second Law of
Thermodynamics, every event that occurs in the Universe increases the entropy of the Universe. Every event that occurs increases the “disorder”
of the entire Universe. Even if it seems
we are creating “more order” locally we are also creating more disorder
elsewhere. For example, building a house
seems to “create order,” but finding and transporting the raw materials; and then
“cleaning up” afterward creates much more disorder overall. Therefore, building a house increases the entropy of the Universe, no matter how
organized the house itself may be.
Einstein
once said that, “The Second Law of Thermodynamics is perhaps the only immutable
law of nature.” What he probably meant
was, our understanding of all the other laws of nature can possibly be refined
and revised, but our knowledge of entropy
is complete.
And
this is why life exists: Life creates more entropy
than “non-life.” One hundred pounds of
living matter causes more movement in the environment and more distribution of
atoms than one hundred pounds of inert matter.
AND -- One hundred pounds of “intelligent goal directed self-aware”
living matter causes even MORE movement in the environment and even MORE
distribution of atoms.
The
development of life and living organisms was inevitable and unavoidable. The development of intelligence and
self-consciousness was inevitable and unavoidable. (By the same line of reasoning, the
development of psychic powers, super consciousness, and machine consciousness
is probably also unavoidable.)
It
has nothing to do with God, or luck, or Fate, or any mystical super-natural intervention
or cosmic loop hole; it is just cold hard mathematics. Life destroys things faster, and moves the
parts about more, than “non-life” ever will.
This is entropy.
That is life.
This is entropy.
That is life.
Copyright©2016
William Schaeffer
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