So I'm in this really odd mood today probably brought on by drinking a little last night. And I was in Costco today, and looking at all the middle age lost souls and their consumption hunger after walking through the parking lot full of SUVs and minivans. I came up with a theory that I've brushed before:

In the universe as a system maximum entropy or disorder is desired. It is the most stable state of affairs. So if left to it's own devices a system (like our universe)will seek out this state in the fastest manner available. That is where life comes in.....

Life is natures way of disipating energy and creating disorder in the fastest way possible. Think about this: Higher life forms consume energy at an increasing rate compared to other earlier/less sophisticated organsms. Procreation/the pursuit of happiness/ any other concievable purpose of life reason fits with accelerating energy consumption as these goals are pursued.

Questions: Why do we like to use power in frivolous ways like fireworks/auto racing/art/ any number of human pursuits.

As humans we are at the top of the ladder, we use an amazing amount of energy and are good at the job nature intended us for.

Hmm this means that there will be a finishing point where the system reaches its stable configuration, then there must be some sort of re-cycling of the universe in some type of big crunch/big bang deal.

Hmm this is what happens when I sit back and think about the big picture and my thoughts of energy as universal "currency". But re-examining it this effect only occurs on a planetary/soon to be star system level.

More foods for thought.....

Anyone have any comments on my theory, flaws, counter theories, anything?

I don't think it's a good idea to give up ones life and live in the bush like an animal or some hippy.

Barely related point: I do however for the sake of our children think it would be smart to reduce consumption of petroleum.

quote:

---

Originally posted by tryptamine:
As humans we are at the top of the ladder, we use an amazing amount of energy and are good at the job nature intended us for.

---

Off subject I know, but are humans even part of the ladder? The food chain, Darwins theory etc, we as humans really have no part in it anymore. In fact for the most part we control it. Except for maybe the occasional animal attack we kill the best, not the weak or the sick. This I believe totally debunks Natural Selection.

Well it has nothing to do with the theory whether we play the game by the rules or not. The big picture even bigger than the question "Are we a part of nature?" is what is the purpose of life?

I propose that it's purpose is that it is the optimum configuration to increase entropy. The fastest way to decay the universe into a homogeneous, ulitmately disordered system.

I used to think that the purpose of life was to gain experience good and bad. Still this is a great way to live.

Right off subject... Well in that case, I think we are still a part of the ladder, just one that doesn't play by the rules. Natural selection still works, it just works around us.

In 'my opinion' we seem to struggle to be the best, what this has to do with the universe in general I do not know. But who does not want the best or to be the best at something (ack I feel like a capitalist pig!). There are legends even among monks; of those who were truly pious or most devoted and determined. As a species we seem to love to argue, boast, and collect as much 'precious' junk as possible. What the hell was gold good for back in the day any way? A seemingly useless metal until maybe the last century or so when we discovered it use for such things as electronics?

Again what does/could this mean? I regret I can only give maybes here. We could have been born/created to solve some great problem (yeah I know it has some vague undertones to it), and maybe as you put it, "I propose that it's purpose is that it is the optimum configuration to increase entropy, The fastest way to decay the universe into a homogeneous, ultimately disordered system". Last, things may just "be" without a real reason, it is what it is. Either way I doubt we will find the much sought after reason for being in my lifetime.

So why waste the time giving a damn.

Ah ha, now this is going to bake yur noodle:

Suppose that I'm not proposing that this is "why" we are here, but it is why life itself came to be. This isn't the purpose of life in that it is a mission or a trivial thing like that. It is much simpler and basic it is just an efficient configuration for a pathway.

It is in effect a way to "just be" as you put it yet still have a reason. But most would conceive it as being no reason at all.

Noodle baked yet?

It's so simple and that is the beauty of it.

What would Mother Nature do if all of a sudden we stopped this overuse of energy? Would we be killed off and the process started again?

No it has little to do with that. We still would use more energy to barely subsist than any other animal plant or whatever.

This isn't a comdemnation of our ways, and it's not a job that lifeforms are doing that we can all of a sudden become bad at and cause mother nature to get rid of us. Unless we become so bad at our job of being alive that we die I guess.

Wait.. I think I might have just punched a hole in my theory. Photosynthesising plants, collect energy that would otherwise dissipate, they use this energy to create a stored energy source. Mind you in the end they do through metabolism increase the entropy of the system. So this is just a little inversion of the theory that still works in the big picture.

This seems to be too broad of a theory for people to get with one look.

I think our species is fundamentally flawed.

I mean, think about how our society works...the corporations show us pictures of shiny things on TV in order to distract us while our corporate masters run off with all the fucking money!

Tell me this country isn't a fucking plutocracy: Democrats and Republicans want campaign finanace reform so they can continue receiving corporate money under the table while at the same time keeping other political movements from (Libertarians come to mind) from ever receiving mainstream exposure. How many nationally televised debates have you seen that include LP candidates? Not very fucking many...

The government wants to keep a status quo when the natural state of the universe is chaos.

Therefore, our efforts as humans to organize, simplify, and explain things are futile and in the end all of our endeavors will be canceled out.

Things tend to be cyclical: power is being consolidated so expect some kind of upheaval and redistribution of power in the distant future. Perhaps humanity will eventually end up destroying itself...we'd be just another failed mutation.

Right now most people's lives are becoming bland and uninteresting...taking risks is discouraged, safety is overemphasized. (Laws requiring skateboarders to wear helmets? WTF?) So I guess I'm rooting for some major catastrophe to shake things up. That would be lots of fun!

Perhaps nature isn't that efficient after all...

Our goal is entropy. Space is full of random particles, each one a potential energy source. Out of nowhere, some of these particles coalesce into a star. This is arguably a much more efficient and available power source than a bunch of space dust. Nature has created this complex, ordered device in order to create disorder. This star will break down the particles into basic energy and distribute it rather evenly throughout the universe, making Mr. Entropy very happy.

Isn't this a much more efficient way of making inefficiency? Why have this planet full of people when the sun is so much better at wasting energy? Then again, there seem to be a lot more stars than people. Maybe nature is weeding out this boring "life" thing...

Very very good! Well put. That concerned me as well. I mentioned that life only works on a planetary level I guess this would be the only way my theory could work. We could never be as energetically destructive as the pretty stars.....

But do we ever try!