Things You Need to Know about the Universe

5. We live because of the entropic process. Our very sense of existence, of the passage of time, stems ultimately from low-entropy matter-energy constantly being turned into high-entropy matter-energy, in the universal context. [A simplistic analogy to this process is this: gasoline is to low-entropy matter-energy as a car is to the universe. Once the gas is gone, the machine ain't goin' nowhere. And the gas will definitely run out, just in using the car for what it's designed to be used for.] It is because of the potential intrinsic to low-entropy matter-energy, and because of that potential being used up, that the world turns. Everything "done" in the universe stems from "potential" of one form or another, for example, the potential of a hunk of coal, or the potential energy of a rock as it falls from a cliff (not just the potential, but, again, the potential being used up). Many, many conclusions are thus drawn: it is vitally important to limit the using up of potential wherever possible (literally and lyrically), just as it is (the flip side to the coin, really) vitally important to limit the production of local, high-entropy matter-energy (waste, pollution, inanimate matter of no possible use, etc.).

4. A perpetual-motion machine is absolutely and totally impossible in this universe and this dimension. Trust me, you wouldn't want a machine that can run forever to be possible. If it were, you wouldn't be sitting there reading this. And, you have to admit, no matter how bad it gets, life makes you feel pretty good sometimes. [Related to point #5 above, the universe is the ultimate machine which cannot possibly run forever; such is the universal condition, quite nearly by definition.] (What do I mean by "this dimension"? If, for example, space-time is curved, as Einstein thought it was, the true perception of it as such would entail "existence" or "substantive thought" in a dimension wholly different from the one most of us are stuck in. Furthermore, explanations for phenomena we witness would likely change a great deal if many of us were capable of perceiving a curvature to space-time.)

3. Throughout the universe, matter and energy are conserved. That is to say, it is in no way possible to add matter or energy to the universe. There is a fixed amount of matter and energy in the universe. In the earthly context, the only input we receive, of any kind, from the universe is the rays of sun we see each day. We receive no significant matter at all, only the occasional stray asteroid fragment and such like. Further, though matter and energy can change forms, it is in no way possible to turn the sun's rays into matter. That is to reiterate, there is a fixed amount of matter on the earth, e.g., fossil fuels, and once gone, it's gone for good.

2. "Progress" is only sometimes in the direction of more efficient and "better." This is truly counter-intuitive. Obviously, progress is not here meant in a normative sense (i.e., with "good" built into it). Instead I am talking about the progression, chronologically, of technology, socio-cultural mores, etc. In the more material sense, each energy transition in history--from wood fires, to coal fires, to oil fires, to nuclear explosions--has entailed a smaller net yield of energy as compared to the overall input. So too, for example, with fabrics and clothing. Going along the continuum from skins, to wool, to cotton, to man-made materials, one goes from best, most efficient to worst, least efficient, and least durable. (One should look for Jeremy Rifkin's book Entropy for more insights along these lines, written in a style meant for the lay person.) Also, notably, on a more complex note, we have found that with each "advance" we make there is some cost which has to be answered for, often/usually/always offsetting the benefit of the "advance" in the first place. Examples include: agricultural chemicals which let less people do the work of farming but have wrecked havoc on environmental and human health, machines which move us where we want to go quickly or do work we want done quickly, but which cause deleterious pollution and excess noise, for example (which often necessitate additional costs aside from simply impinging on our quality of life prima facie, costs like medical ones stemming from pollution, extra-insulated windows to keep out the noise, etc.).

1. There was never a perfect, golden age. There was never a lack of fights or disagreements or wars. Humans have never lived 100% "in harmony" with the earth. And life has never pretty much stood still in some beautiful perfection. Know that there has always been badness, just as there has always been and will always be evil in the hearts and minds of women and men. While some aspects of our lives were "better" and more efficient when there were exponentially less humans on the earth, living has always entailed and will always entail some "damage" and actions which cannot ever be undone.