What most people know of entropy is a brash over generalization of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. "Things tend towards disorder, so how is it we could have highly ordered evolutionary structures in a universe which tends chaos?" To really understand this, you need to understand the fine print of the Law. Yes, systems tend towards disorder, but they also will order themselves if and only if they can create a higher amount of disorder from doing so. Moreover, the word disorder is not the proper nomenclature. Because a system which is ordered can breakdown into many ordered states, which is more disorder than what you started with. So with all semantics aside, what does this really have to do with evolution?
We can begin by assuming that entropy in an evolutionary system is the tendency towards diversity within a system. This is a direct analogue to what entropy is for a physical system, except we are missing the conduit for this type of exchange from order to disorder. In a physical system, diffusion is the definition for this exchange. Diffusion is the method for which energy is distributed throughout a physical system given some criteria. In an evolutionary system, diffusion also occurs, and the source and dispersion of energy is dictated by Entropy. Much like a physical system, energy in an evolutionary system must be distributed by the most efficient means possible.
The term energy has many faces. Thermal, electromagnetic, kinetic, gravitational, and on and on. How are we to understand which to use? This really depends on what we are studying. We would not use kinetic energy to describe a the flow of electrons in a circuit. So we must then define an exchange of energy in an evolutionary system. We could simply call it energy, but many smarter persons will confuse the definition with those that are given to us from physics. To find a suitable word, we must investigate further. What form of energy does an evolutionary system need to evolve?
Energy is really just a representation for something which is exchanged. Remember that in normal circumstances it is not created, nor destroyed but rather traded. In an evolutionary system, it is the same. Energy is needed for a system to order itself. Our sun is a great source of many different kinds of energy. Both gravitational and electromagnetic energy ordered our solar system to the point to where it could support life. In another case, our labor is energy. It is an exchange of our time, for some investment or collateral. With our labor we order our lives, upkeep our nests, save for our children's college tuition, which in turn is another investment. While these are rather abstract examples, they are examples none the less of what energy does. Evolutionary Systems need some form of energy to represent the exchange within itself and other influential systems. In the previous paragraph, I asked what form of energy does an evolutionary system need in order to evolve. If we are to make a generalized argument for evolution of any system, then we must have a generalized representation of energy. It really depends on what system you are studying. We really don't have any better word for the type of energy utilized by an evolutionary system than the word energy. Whenever I write a post and examine a particular system, I will plead my case for the type of energy associated with that system.
So an Evolutionary System is one with a degree of diversity within itself. That System is ordered by means of diffusion of energy. Ordering occurs according to the rule of entropy, where energy tends to be distributed throughout the system by the most efficient means.
For the next couple of posts I will focus on primarily examples of Systems. This will bring some of the language and ideas I'm using into focus for many of you. Until then, safe travels.
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