Post #4509284
2026-07-17 16:43 UTC
@pre@boing.world It's an observation in the physics of entropy that the math there is consistent with the math in Shannon information entropy. Living things are active to maintain and reproduce themselves. They're predisposed to find heaps of easily available energy in preference to less available energy, and in consuming these heaps, convert them to less available energy, eventually courting extinction through a polluted and exhausted ecological niche.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_maximum_entropy
This suggests that continuing to bang on the North Sea oil, among other such things, is not going to end well.
Unfortunately, the principle predicts that we cannot help ourselves. Wish we would try, though.
Replies (1)
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@pre@boing.world 2026-07-17 16:57
@shonin@c.im There's certainly people in the Labour Party arguing to open new oil fields in the North Sea. Which, because of the way international oil markets work, won't even actually reduce the price of energy to the consumer or do much to increase sovereign independence, but would give some tax receipts to the exchequer and lots of profits to the party donors from the oil industry. Not sure you need to think about entropy to realize that it's a mistake, and that it'd end with more heatdomes and super-el-ninio and wildfires and heatstroke death. Andy's team has people for and also people against it. We'll see which faction wins out.