Order and Growth vs. Chaos and Decay 🌱 🌿 🍂

Life as a force counter to entropy.

Entropy is the natural tendency of systems, matter and energy, to disperse and undergo increased disorder over time. It's a concept of thermodynamics and is technically a measure of disorder. It's a fundamental characteristic of physics that in a closed system, the amount of entropy increases over time. 

Life is a complex and organized system that defies the entropic tendency of the universe. Life may be characterized as the intake of matter and energy from the environment, its processing, and using it to maintain and grow a structure and function of its own. This process, metabolism, is the transformation of energy and matter from simple to more complex, organized forms. Isn't this the opposite of entropy?

Still, life is not immune to entropy or its effects. All living things do break down, grow disordered over time. Death is an integral part of the life cycle. But life may be seen as a counterforce to entropy. Life is a complexifying, ordering process, just strong enough to reproduce over time evading a final death.

Entropic Order

What to make of the idea that order and organization can emerge spontaneously in systems that are driven by entropy? Even in situations where there is a natural tendency toward randomness and disorder, it is possible for patterns and structures to emerge. This can happen from the interactions of different elements within a system. 

One example of entropic order is the formation of self-assembling structures in chemical reactions. In these reactions, the individual molecules have a high level of randomness and disorder, but as they interact with each other, they spontaneously form organized structures such as crystals or fibers. Another example of entropic order is the emergence of patterns in physical systems, such as created convection cells in a fluid or patterns in pile of sand. Here, the interactions between the individual particles or molecules leads to the emergence of organized patterns, even though the system as a whole is driven by the tendency toward disorder. Another example is the process of adaptation and evolution in living systems; the ability to adapt and change in response to environmental pressures can lead to the emergence of harmony and balance within the system.

Resonance and Resilience

Resonance and resilience are two related concepts referring to the abilities of systems to maintain their integrity and function in the face of external challenges or stresses. Resonance refers to the ability of a system to vibrate or oscillate with a particular frequency, or set of frequencies, in response to an external stimulus. This can be seen in physical systems, such as the resonance of a guitar string, or in biological systems, such as the resonance of the vocal cords producing sound. Resilience, on the other hand, refers to the ability of a system to recover from or adapt to changes or disturbances in its environment. For example, resilience can mean the ability to withstand or recover from physical stresses, such as damage or trauma, or the ability to adapt to changes in the environment, such as changes in temperature or availability of resources. 

Both resonance and resilience are important qualities that enable systems to maintain their function and stability in the face of external challenges. Understanding and enhancing these qualities can be important for maintaining the health and well-being of both physical and biological systems.

Things that contribute to resiliency:

• Flexibility: The ability to adapt and change in response to different circumstances can make a system more resilient. This might involve the ability to change strategies or approaches in response to challenges, or to adjust to different conditions or environments.
• Diversification: Having a diverse range of resources or approaches can help a system to be more resilient, as it can provide a range of options to draw on in different situations.
• Redundancy: Having backup systems or resources can help a system to be more resilient, as it can allow the system to continue functioning even if one part fails or is disrupted.
• Strong connections: Strong connections between different parts of a system or between different systems can help to enhance resilience, as they can provide support and resources to help the system recover from disruptions.
• Resourcefulness: The ability to be resourceful and find creative solutions to problems can also contribute to resilience. This might involve the ability to improvise or adapt to different situations, or to think outside the box to find new ways to solve problems.

Tension and Resilience / Resonance

Something characterized by competing, balanced powers is more resilient than something that is uniform.

Tension affects how the system resonates.