Entropy is officially defined by Webster's as "a measure of the unavailable energy in a closed thermodynamic system so related to the state of the system that a change in the measure varies with change in the ratio of the increment of heat taken in to the absolute temperature at which it is absorbed." Got it?
I prefer the fourth definition in the dictionary that tells me entropy is, "the steady degredation or disorganization of a system or society."
In my non-scientific brain, this steady degredation can best be illustrated by dropping a ball. If you allow the ball to be affected by gravity without your interference, it will only bounce a certain number of times (12?) before it stops. Each bounce will be significantly less high than the height of the previous rebound.
Life is like that - it will peter out if we don't give it a periodic jolt. So will the universe. So will romance.
After a certain age, it would appear animals - including humans - seem to develop enough skills to keep entropy at bay. They learn to feed themselves and to protect themselves from the elements. Using another scientific analogy, they are taught how to pull the string on a gyroscope and keep that marvelous toy spinning.
As a child, I was given a toy gyroscope and it filled my eyes with wonderment and delight. But just as I was thrilled to see the spinning orb stay on top of its slender perch, so too, was I saddened every time entropy took over and allowed gravity to win the contest.
Fortunately, a quick wrap of the string and a rapid pull would put the gyroscope back in motion. Until a new toy was seen across the room.
The organization of a family is sort of like a gyroscope - preparations for each new child finds us wrapping the string tightly around the post, and as the child is born, we give the string a mighty yank! Usually, the gyroscope stays spinning for about 18 years or so, and then someone else enters the childs life to take a turn at wrapping and pulling the string. Then the new partners present the family with a new life, and the pattern starts all over again.
But what of the original individual? What keeps the internal gyroscope spinning inside the grandparent? The attraction of new toys and new discoveries tend to pull the children further and further away from the original parent. Slowly, sometimes imperceptibly, entropy takes over, along with rheumatism, kidney problems, and faltering steps.
Oh, it is an enevitable part of life - dying - but sometimes a little pull on the string from time to time would make life just a little more enjoyable.
I am reminded of the last few months of my mother's life. She would watch one of several clocks spread around her tiny one-room apartment. Her life revolved around meals, certain television programs, and a schedule for taking pills. As a single parent with a full-time job, I tried to see her as much as possible, but she could never count on me - something that has haunted me to this very day.
Lately, my life has also seemed to be winding down in all respects. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It is more than the "empty nest syndrome" after all the children have gone their seperate ways. For all intents and purposes, there just doesn't seem to be much hope or desire anymore. Now, it is my turn to check out each clock in my small apartment, waiting for the television news to come on.
But even with all that, there always seems to be something just beyond the horizon to keep the gyroscope spinning. With my mother, it was this keen desire to find just the right typewriter. Perhaps she was planning to write her autobiography - or the "great American novel."
With me, it is plans to attend the wedding of my son Tim and his fiancee. Right now, I can't see beyond that family reunion, but experience has taught me there will be something. Some event will need planning. Some activity will crop up that as of today does not exist. It has amazed me in the past to see this same pattern assert itself after every major event. Just as I say to myself, "Well, there is nothing left to look forward to," sure enough, something new crops up.
One religious scholar wrote that without a miraculous spark of life, "the planets would not stay in their orbits, vegetation would not grow, men and animals would be devoid of the breath of life, and life would cease to exist." Bruce R. McConkie defined that miraculous spark of life as Jesus Christ. For those who prefer a more scientific answer, I propose the term, "Anti-entropy." As far as I know, there is no such word, but surely the concept must exist in the scientific world? The known universe is running down - but it doesn't stop. Why not?
What keeps the world spinning? How does the universe keep on keeping on?
What do you think?