Entropy - The mystery force governing our life
written by Senthil Kumar G
What is this Entropy?
Entropy is the degree of disorderedness and randomness in a system. Higher the randomness and chaos, higher the entropy. And as per the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of an isolated or closed system, always increases with time. If we had answered this our school Chemistry exam, we would have been given 2 marks (What is Entropy is a 2-mark questions in school examinations for several decades until now). Now, let’s look at it from the point of view of a mental model, and how this universal law is so inherent to our lives.
Simply put, Entropy always increases over time. It is the natural tendency of things to lose order. Left to its own, life will always become less structured, cars will begin to rust, we will age and our health will begin to deteriorate. Left to its own, our rooms will only become messier with time, and it won't magically become neat and tidy with time. And if you do dishwashing at home, you can better appreciate the beauty of entropy. Nothing can escape the relentless pull of entropy. Everything decays, and disorder always increases.
But don't be disheartened, and there is a way to turn things around.
Everything in this universe is moving towards a state of chaos, and this creates a need for external energy to keep things in order. Entropy will always increase on its own and let it be. The only way to make things orderly again is to add energy and that order requires effort, and a sustained one.
Our rooms can get messier with time, but by bringing in external energy, that is, by cleaning the room REGULARLY (Not once in a blue-moon), the room will be neat and tidy again. Society by itself only moves to chaos, and there needs to be maintenance from individuals and institutions (Law and order, Police, and others) to bring orderliness in place. With proper maintenance and taking care (Energy), our car, our health and anything and everything can fight against the relentless pull of entropy.
If you are an Entrepreneur, and focus only on scaling, without building the necessary support and maintenance system in place, the startup will come crashing down. There are only a few ways for things to be in order, but there are multiple or infinite ways for things to be in disorder, and hence there needs to be large inflow of energy to keep your startup, or any project, to be in order. Not only in startups, even large organisations still have to play by the rules of entropy. Over time, employees will lose motivation, ignore rules and sometimes forget their training as well. As a company, as a HR Leader or L&D Leader, you have to constantly invest on your team with regular training, feedback, and continuous support.
Even as an individual, it is easy to be distracted than staying focussed. It needs constant effort in the form of being disciplined to stay on track. Left to its own, relationships also gets only messier with time, and there needs to be constant communication, and care to make relationships work.
As James clear, the author of 'Atomic Habits' points out in his article on entropy, 'The difficulties of life do not occur because the planets are misaligned or because some cosmic force is conspiring against you. It is simply entropy at work'
Disorder is default. Order is only temporary and this order requires effort. This insight—that disorder has a natural tendency to increase over time and that we can counteract that tendency by expending energy—reveals the core purpose of life. Good life doesn’t happen by itself, we only have to design and execute it with care. It is this chaos, and disorder, that makes life challenging, leading to innovation and creativity, and making life - simply remarkable.
Share your learning
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Senthil is a Scientific Researcher turned Serious Game Designer, and a Game based Learning Facilitator, and is passionate about creating meaningful games that help people unleash their potential through play.
He is a mental model evangelist, and writes articles, focussed on powerful mental models and frameworks, in a simple language.
Entropy - The mystery force governing our life
written by Senthil Kumar G
What is this Entropy?
Entropy is the degree of disorderedness and randomness in a system. Higher the randomness and chaos, higher the entropy. And as per the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of an isolated or closed system, always increases with time. If we had answered this our school Chemistry exam, we would have been given 2 marks (What is Entropy is a 2-mark questions in school examinations for several decades until now). Now, let’s look at it from the point of view of a mental model, and how this universal law is so inherent to our lives.
Simply put, Entropy always increases over time. It is the natural tendency of things to lose order. Left to its own, life will always become less structured, cars will begin to rust, we will age and our health will begin to deteriorate. Left to its own, our rooms will only become messier with time, and it won't magically become neat and tidy with time. And if you do dishwashing at home, you can better appreciate the beauty of entropy. Nothing can escape the relentless pull of entropy. Everything decays, and disorder always increases.
But don't be disheartened, and there is a way to turn things around.
Everything in this universe is moving towards a state of chaos, and this creates a need for external energy to keep things in order. Entropy will always increase on its own and let it be. The only way to make things orderly again is to add energy and that order requires effort, and a sustained one.
Our rooms can get messier with time, but by bringing in external energy, that is, by cleaning the room REGULARLY (Not once in a blue-moon), the room will be neat and tidy again. Society by itself only moves to chaos, and there needs to be maintenance from individuals and institutions (Law and order, Police, and others) to bring orderliness in place. With proper maintenance and taking care (Energy), our car, our health and anything and everything can fight against the relentless pull of entropy.
If you are an Entrepreneur, and focus only on scaling, without building the necessary support and maintenance system in place, the startup will come crashing down. There are only a few ways for things to be in order, but there are multiple or infinite ways for things to be in disorder, and hence there needs to be large inflow of energy to keep your startup, or any project, to be in order. Not only in startups, even large organisations still have to play by the rules of entropy. Over time, employees will lose motivation, ignore rules and sometimes forget their training as well. As a company, as a HR Leader or L&D Leader, you have to constantly invest on your team with regular training, feedback, and continuous support.
Even as an individual, it is easy to be distracted than staying focussed. It needs constant effort in the form of being disciplined to stay on track. Left to its own, relationships also gets only messier with time, and there needs to be constant communication, and care to make relationships work.
As James clear, the author of 'Atomic Habits' points out in his article on entropy, 'The difficulties of life do not occur because the planets are misaligned or because some cosmic force is conspiring against you. It is simply entropy at work'
Disorder is default. Order is only temporary and this order requires effort. This insight—that disorder has a natural tendency to increase over time and that we can counteract that tendency by expending energy—reveals the core purpose of life. Good life doesn’t happen by itself, we only have to design and execute it with care. It is this chaos, and disorder, that makes life challenging, leading to innovation and creativity, and making life - simply remarkable.
Share your learning
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Senthil is a Scientific Researcher turned Serious Game Designer, and a Game based Learning Facilitator, and is passionate about creating meaningful games that help people unleash their potential through play. He is a mental model evangelist, and writes articles, focussed on powerful mental models and frameworks, in a simple language.