The 'Interception of Entropy'

"Just as the constant increase in entropy is the basic law of the universe, so it is the basic law of life to be ever more highly structured and to struggle against entropy." ~ Vaclav Havel 

What can we learn from entropy and how does it apply to human behavior?

Entropy is a term central to the second law of thermodynamics and can be scientifically described as a "measure of the unavailability of a system's energy to do work."  It is a derivative of a Greek word translated as "a turning toward" and Webster's Online Dictionary offers a broader definition of entropy as "a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder."

Can we possibly avoid turning toward degradation and disorder in our lives?

"Question: Who governs the governors? Answer: Entropy." ~ Frank Herbert

The inspiration for this post comes from a recent book I read called, Leadership is an Art, where entropy is creatively employed by the author, Max De Pree, as the tendency toward deterioration from within the corporate structure.  De Pree urged leaders in organizations, his corporate clients, to stop entropic activities -- to "intercept entropy."

My only disappointment with De Pree's idea is that he did not expand on the interception of entropy as a broader human condition that extends far beyond the work place and into all areas of our lives; therefore, I will take the interception farther...

"Entropy is the normal state of consciousness -- a condition that is neither useful nor enjoyable." ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

A common scientific example of entropy is the melting of ice:  As an ice cube melts, it changes states.  To change states, the ice cube's molecules must increase in activity.  This increase is an increase in disorder -- an increase in entropy.  It is important to note, however, that energy is used to melt the ice but no work is done -- so it may be considered useless energy.

"Only entropy comes easy." ~ Anton Chekhov

Much like entropic activity in physical science, human behavior also has a tendency toward useless energy that may come in the forms of apathy, complacency and inertia just to name a few.

The key observation to make at this point is that humans are not ice cubes.  We have been blessed with intellectual faculties that provide the capacity to alter our own course -- albeit at a slow and deliberate pace -- we have a mind that is more powerful than the brain -- we have the ability to make choices and changes -- our activity need not be useless.

The challenge with intercepting entropy is that most of our useless energy essentially comes in the form of bad habits that have become automatic and of which we are unaware; therefore, we may define our term as such: 

The Interception of Entropy = awareness of (and subsequent mindful attention to) the existence, causes and prevention of entropic activity.  In simple terms, the interception of entropy is learning good habits and unlearning bad ones.

Of course, the awareness of the existence of entropy in an individual's life is up to the individual. Once this awareness exists (hopefully with the aid of this post) most of the work is done and we may see more clearly entropy's causes and effects:

• Apathy
• Complacency
• Superficiality
• Greed
• Media noise
• Social conventions
• Language
• Inertia
• Hopelessness
• Ignorance of Ignorance 
• Resistance to change
• Strict adherence to plans
• Absolute submission
• Absolute aggression
• Following the path of least resistance
• The thinking that more equals more and less equals less 
• Yielding to political correctness
• Yielding to influences from external sources 
• Placing money and social status ahead of principles
• Prioritizing price higher than value 
• Failure to find meaning in mistakes and suffering
• and witnessing evil while doing nothing...

Can you think of others?

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." ~ Lau-tzu

Now that we are aware of entropy's existence and some its causes and effects, it is your task to begin its interception...

I see entropy as a natural occurrence; however, our natural tendencies as humans and individual personalities are not always conducive to our well-being.  The natural path is not the same as the chosen path -- the prior is by default, the latter is by choice. 

I see entropy as part of the larger struggle of mind vs. brain -- without mindful attention to our condition, we may just end up where we are heading, and that may be for the better or for the worse...

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Related Posts:

Mind vs. Brain Part I: We are only Human

The Lesson of the Moth

Are You a Boiling Frog?

Comments

[Next Gen Politics]

Kent once again you have delivered unto us a bountiful harvest. I really enjoyed the idea of useless energy that can be detrimental to your overall success. "If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." ~ Lau-Tzu-Priceless quote. I suffer from many of the symptoms of entropy, so thank you for shinning a light on the problem for me. Coming to your site is more like therapy than casual reading, and we could all use a little therapy. Thanks again, keep up the good work.

Jerame Clough
-Next Gen Politics

[The Financial Philosopher]

Thanks, Jerame...

I, too, suffer from entropy as we all do to some degree. Once we recognize that our natural tendency is "turning toward" degredation and disorder, and we identify the causes and effects of entropy, then we may begin its interception.

Thanks again...

Kent

[Aman]

Nice post. I enjoyed your insight about Entropy. My post titled The Pain of Losing: Emotion, Noise, Time-scale, and Information relates deeply to what you call entropy.

http://one-motion.blogspot.com/

[The Financial Philosopher]

Thanks, Aman, for the comment and the link...

Kent

[Aman]

It's a work in progress and changes often. I'm always striving to make it as clear as I am able.

Thanks for the fitting Lau Tzu quote.

[Allan Thompson]

Entropy is what the apostle Paul describes in Romans 8 when he writes about having either a mind of the flesh (the death and decay of the natural order) or a mind ruled by the Spirit of God (He who creates and redeems).
Max DePree's book is still one of the best for students of leadership; he says in one elegant phrase what many take chapters to say.