ENTROPY (EVERYTHING GOES TO RAT SHIT IN THE END)

There’s a concept in thermodynamics called ‘entropy’, which is more or less a measure of disorder. In terms far too scientific for me to grasp, entropy explains why and how everything under the sun tends to fall apart in the long run.

Now, regardless of the credentials of my former science teachers – who were variously odd, ancient, evil, or a combination thereof – I don’t mind taking the blame for my ignorance of entropy as a scientific theory. Physics isn’t for everyone after all, and I was hardly a model student. But what does concern me is my ignorance of the more practical implications of entropy.

As the title of this post so succinctly puts it, everything goes to rat shit in the end, from plants and animals to man-made systems and structures. Even the hardiest among us succumb to old age, the most advanced feats of engineering eventually fail, and the strongest fortresses crumble into ruins. This is nothing new and it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

But on a smaller, more quotidian scale, I definitely have some sort of entropy blindspot. Whether it’s losing my cool when the air conditioner needs another new part or stressing out when my daughters ransack the room I just tidied, I routinely overlook the fact that these things require ongoing commitment.

So far so obvious, perhaps, but as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, there’s quite a difference between knowing a thing and knowing a thing. Yes, coughing up for spare parts is a bit of a pain, but it’s unavoidable unless you want to go back to basics. Likewise, keeping a household clean and tidy is a laborious, unglamorous task, but again it’s unavoidable unless you want to live in a shit hole.

And most importantly of all, any relationship, including that with our own unconscious, requires some form of maintenance work. If we’ve any wisdom in us, we tend to our nearest and dearest as we might tend to a garden, striving for that delicate balance between pruning it into sterility and letting it run too wild.

Either way, the great unknown is snapping at our heels. It is taken as a natural law that entropy always increases, that chaos is the default setting, and I feel we should take this seriously. Whatever we want, whatever we truly appreciate, is going to come at a premium, be it vigilance, expenditure, or some other form of outlay.

And that’s pretty much all I’ve got on entropy. On the grand stage, we might say life is a constant battle against disintegration, a game in which we take flight for as long as we can before gravity pulls us back to mother earth. And on a lesser stage, we might say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. I’m not sure which I prefer, if any, but right now lunch sounds like an excellent idea.