I just love adding disorder to the universe.
Even though entropy increases naturally over time without my help - the irreversible tendency of matter to move from a state of order to one of disorder; I'm talking quantum rather than thermodynamic entropy here of course - it still gives me tremendous satisfaction to be able to help it on its way toward the universe's inevitable end state of total chaos.
Whether or not God counted "A one … a two … a one, two, three, four …" and kick-started the universe into existence, having set the rules for how it would develop - and I find nothing in physics to prove He did not - it's nice to know that (however much tidying up and housework I do) the whole shebang will end up as chaotic as a teenager's bedroom; a universal floordrobe smothered with the detritus of dead stars, stinky clothes, half-eaten takeaway meals and pornography.
What brought this subject up was Mme. Benaut reminding me in yesterday's comments that:
a) I am a voracious learner, and;
b) the more we learn, the more we realise how much more we have yet to learn.
I like to rephrase that little eternal verity as "the more we learn, the more we realise just how ignorant we really are."
This gives us the delightful paradox that by the very act of learning anything we are adding to the sum total of ignorance in the universe.
Woohoo!
I would love to call it Dive's Paradox, but that pesky Stephen Hawking (and also Terry Pratchett) reached the same conclusion independently. Don't you just hate it when that happens?
So. Having learned that little paradox you are now more ignorant than you were when you woke up, and together we've helped fuck up the universe just that little bit more.
Cool or what?
13 comments:
your such a happy little vegemite aren't you.
wow and i was just happy because i got to sleep in, sugar! ;-)
xoxo
Good grief, did you have Einstein; His guide to Quantum Physics for breakfast? I could barely keep my head above water for that post Dive. I bet Brains was your favourite Thunderbirds character. I couldn't decide between him and Lady Penelope. I used to be called Lady Penelope at one of the places i worked so i guess she won in the end.
Well, you didn't honestly expect me to reply in q. mechanics-speak did you? Silly...
Moi?
Sorry, Kate, but I'm as miserable as a clone army of Morrisseys.
I'm happy you got to sleep in, Savannah. Six o'clock! Woohoo!
And also more than a little jealous, too!
Lynn: I deliberately kept numbers out of it, but I'd be happy to teach you the special theory of relativity over several coffees.
You know I love physics and maths.
And my favourite Thunderbirds character was Parker.
Yus, m'lady.
Dive, I think I might have flunked physics if you were my teacher. Then again, perhaps not.
I nearly flunked at school but when I studied architecture way back when I was just 20 and was by definition much smarter than I am today, I topped the college in Physics. To use an absolutely horrific americanism "go figure". I am so glad you are adding to the sum total of ignorance in the world. It is so enlightening.
Sarcasm is so hard to convey in type isn't it.
That sounds good, Dive. I'm not sure how much you'd get back though. Science is my worst subject. Son No. 3 is studying hoping to go to med school at the moment. I help him in the form of testing but have no knowledge of my own. I do tell him that H2O is water and FE = Iron. He smiles kindly.
Mme: I wonder why so many architecture students are whizzy at physics.
As for shoveling big piles of DUH onto the world's ignorance mountain, I think it's our rebellious generation at work again.
Let's screw the next generation and make 'em even dumber than they look.
Kate: I should have known. It's a pity they don't do an emoticon for "yeah, right".
Hee hee, Lynn; I'll bet he does!
That made me giggle so much.
Like Lynn, I am crap at science but have a kid who is studying—she's brilliant at chemistry. I can only stare blankly and wait until she stops talking so I can start telling her about something I saw on TV. Well, it's not quite that bad, but I really have a deficiency in the science portion of my brain. Maybe I can consume the excess ignorance you contribute to the universe, Dive. Kind of like a landfill.
Ok so you've proved sarcasm isn't that hard to do in type.
Gold stars for you.
God on that depressing note I'm going to have to go back to bed and put a pillow on my face!!!
Hee hee, Robyn. An ignorance landfill is such a wonderful concept.
Kate: Sarcastic? Moi?
I am much too happy a little bunny to ever use sarcasm.
Depressing, Jules?
Dammit! I thought it was funny.
I must be losing my touch.
Um...yeah. Right. Got it.
No way.
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