Dunkirk NY – As the US House of Representatives merrily continues to shit in its own bed, I thought to myself, “What better day to start a new category of blog posts than the second anniversary of the January 6, 2021 Insurrection at the US Capital?” I’m going to call these series of posts The Entropy Chronicles. As with all my writing efforts on this blog, entries will be as the spirit moves me. I find that in retirement I prefer to take on activities either as the spirit moves me, or as I am absolutely required to do so.
Why “The Entropy Chronicles”? A definition of entropy is in order. From Wikipedia:
Entropy is a scientific concept, as well as a measurable physical property, that is most commonly associated with a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty.
Or, put another way:
Energy exists in one of two states. Either usable, or not usable. Entropy is the measurement of how much usable energy there is. The level of entropy within a closed system increases as the level of unusable energy increases (and also obviously, as the level of usable energy decreases).
Even though the energy cannot be destroyed, it gradually becomes obsolete and useless over time as entropy increases. Entropy cannot be reversed (bold emphasis mine) (https://discover.hubpages.com/education/What-is-Entropy-The-laws-of-thermodynamics)
In short, entropy usually measures the state of disorder or chaos within some sort of system. The higher the level of entropy that exists, the less capable the system is of functioning. This particular series of posts will offer instances and commentary on the signs of entropy in the culture, and what they mean for a declining civilization. This is often called “social entropy,” and is a new but inexact social theory.
All organic and human enterprises eventually fade away and die. Whatever it is that we now cherish – or say we cherish – will in time fade away. As a concept, entropy explains this reality. Simply put, an organism runs out of energy to maintain its function. Outside the realm of science, in areas like politics or economics or sociology, the term “entropy” is a bit more symbolic because it is harder to measure precisely or with any great accuracy. Within society, the will to maintain a particular social structure decreases over time until there is no interest or capability left to maintain that social structure.
As I observe things or events that seem to me to be a marker of the entropic forces around us, I will write about them here. I won’t always be right, but in the overall scheme of things, there is little question that we, as a culture, are on the downhill side of things. Social ties that have bound us together in the past, shared meanings and principles of truth, are all crumbling around us. I can’t say where these forces will take us. I can only observe them and point them out for your consideration. There is no judgement here, because I believe all these forces are natural. Nature itself is one big cycle of creation, growth, decay, and extinction. The Entropy Chronicles will be my attempt to observe and notate those events I see as being part of the decay and extinction part of the process. -twl