Further notes about the morphostasis concept – split files

(44) Entropy, evolution and life

There is a fairly persistent point of view that alleges that entropy runs counter to the spontaneous emergence and evolution of life. This alleged incompatibility is frequently paraded by the more fundamental religious groups to prop up their assertion that life must have been created, in genesis fashion, by a deity. However, this assumption is based on the premise that entropy is synonymous with disorder; and that is wrong. States of low entropy have a natural tendency to flow to states of high entropy. What does this really mean? We can restate it simply by saying that concentrations of high energy (equivalent to highly improbable states that want to "flow" to more probable states) are unstable and will redistribute to a state of homogenous distribution – unless they are maintained. So, for example, if we stuff all the air molecules in an airtight box into the top right hand corner – and then release them – the molecules will redistribute themselves so that there is virtually no potential (pressure) difference in any macro– or micro–scopic part of the box ("virtual" because at anything above absolute zero temperature there are always microscopic peaks and troughs, viz, Brownian movement). We are now no longer able to devise an engine to extract work from the system. Order is something that is highly coloured by our anthropocentric perspectives. We make a motor car and marvel at its order then get upset when it starts to rust, gets damaged or breaks down. Entropy, itself, treats our man made order as something that will eventually disperse into bland homogeneity (for example, a sandstone city into sand). We are only able to stop it if we borrow from some available energy source to repair the disorder that is the consequence of this slide into macro– and micro–scopic homogenisation. Now, wherever energy flows from a concentrated focus to a diffuse homogenised state, it rarely does so in a smooth and bland manner. The energy flow induces eddies that, from our human perspective, take on the perspective of order. For example, look at a mountain river flowing down through a cavern. Here, there are lots of whirlpools, eddies, and standing waves. An attractive order emerges in this hectic flux of energy as it goes from high to low potentials. It only disappears when the flow ceases. The big focal energy concentration, for us on Earth, is our Sun. Without it, all energy flux from the sun (that flows into our ecosystem and is then radiated out into deep intergalactic space) would come to a virtual standstill and all the fractal vortices (of which mammalian form is just one complex example) would cease to be "fuelled"; and they will homogenise. Our animal form is just a complex, fractal based, series of eddies that owe their existence to differential energy fluxes. We will eventually go (ashes to ashes and dust to dust) the same way but by using a slingshot technique, we can send some bits to their homogenised "doom" earlier than others and create the illusion of some permanence. Genes are the very epitome of this process. They are like standing waves that claw themselves, in a counter–current of semi–permanence, though this hectic flow of energy and form.