Brilliant book about the ubiquity of the Second Law, going from the Energetic to the Complex to the Living to the Human.
Originally posted by FoJaR
the problem is that the second law doesnt prefer anything. the second law is just a law.
It's not just A law, it's THE law. [cue Omega]
just because something is better at increasing entropy doesnt mean that that thing will be preferred. the second law says nothing about how entropy is increased. in fact it doesnt even say that it necessarily will be, only that it cannot be decreased
Aha! The Second Law itself doesn't necessarily describe the functions of selection, but we have, well, all the natural world to illustrate that for us, cf. Bénard cells, evolution, et al.
Originally posted by Reincarnate
The problem is that the whole "evolution has a direction" argument is that it's too broad to mean anything. EVERYTHING has a direction if you wish to be super pedantic about it: Heat death.
...
It's silly -- just as silly as saying "evolution has a direction: increasing entropy" or what have you. You could argue that *anything*'s "direction" is increasing entropy, as that's just an inherent attribute of our physical universe.
So yes, you have to reduce the scope unless you're cool with meaningless broad-strokes. Evolution doesn't have a "goal" in the sense that it's just a physical process that's taking place like any other chemical/physical process in our universe.
I think you're focusing too much on the "heat death" aspect of my much earlier post. Of course, all natural laws are going to tend to that end, but I was trying to show that if there is an ultimate goal then every part of the process has to be so ordered regardless of the scope you choose; you only have to re-word it.
I didn't know where the discussion was going to go when I made that post, so I decided to make it short and suss it out later. I had a point; it wasn't mere pedantry.
I am, however, starting to agree with devonin that there is an issue of semantics at hand.
--Guido
Originally posted by Grandiagod
Originally posted by Grandiagod
She has an asshole, in other pics you can see a diaper taped to her dead twin's back.
I think you're focusing too much on the "heat death" aspect of my much earlier post. Of course, all natural laws are going to tend to that end, but I was trying to show that if there is an ultimate goal then every part of the process has to be so ordered regardless of the scope you choose; you only have to re-word it.
Not focusing too much on anything -- you brought up the "direction" as a valid answer in context, and heat death is that direction. You're the one who tossed the entropy wrench into a thread about pedophilia, dude, lol.
Originally posted by GuidoHunter
I didn't know where the discussion was going to go when I made that post, so I decided to make it short and suss it out later.
Also known as "read the thread first so you get the relevant context."
Then again, this thread is shit, so it may be best not to.
Aha! The Second Law itself doesn't necessarily describe the functions of selection, but we have, well, all the natural world to illustrate that for us, cf. Bénard cells, evolution, et al.
--Guido
you're not really responding to my point. i'm saying that nothing in nature or the second law prefers things which create larger relative entropies, which is your claim.
and again, nothing about evolution or benard cells backs up your claim that the amount of entropy something creates has anything to do with how preferred it will be.
all you can talk about is things that are able to exist within a certain amount of entropy, not what is preferred because of the amount of entropy that thing creates.
Not focusing too much on anything -- you brought up the "direction" as a valid answer in context, and heat death is that direction. You're the one who tossed the entropy wrench into a thread about pedophilia, dude, lol.
I brought it up as a point of reference, not a point of discussion or contention. I wanted to establish the fixed end point then bring it back to the scope of evolution on earth and then leave the end result behind.
And hey, I brought thermodynamics into a discussion about evolution, not pedophilia. =)
Also known as "read the thread first so you get the relevant context."
So... I didn't know what throwing the thermo wrench into the thread would do to discussion going forward, so I should take into account the context of the pedophilia discussion that had already been? Mmkay.
Originally posted by FoJaR
you're not really responding to my point. i'm saying that nothing in nature or the second law prefers things which create larger relative entropies, which is your claim.
and again, nothing about evolution or benard cells backs up your claim that the amount of entropy something creates has anything to do with how preferred it will be.
all you can talk about is things that are able to exist within a certain amount of entropy, not what is preferred because of the amount of entropy that thing creates.
And I'm saying that nature itself prefers such things.
There is an entire field of study of this that you CLEARLY do not know about or understand, and yet you continue to make conclusions about it. I do not understand.
--Guido
Originally posted by Grandiagod
Originally posted by Grandiagod
She has an asshole, in other pics you can see a diaper taped to her dead twin's back.
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