A Philosophy of Entropy

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  1. paradigmsearch profile image60
    paradigmsearchposted 9 years ago

    Anybody got any ideas on how to get Google excited about this one or otherwise make it better?

    http://paradigmsearch.hubpages.com/hub/ … Entropy-Is

    1. janderson99 profile image54
      janderson99posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Jaaxy says this phase (does entropy mean) is the one and only hope for getting traffic - so something like
      What is Entropy, What Does Entropy Mean for You
      may work

      This is my favorite quote about entropy [Extracts from WHAT IS LIFE? by Erwin Shrödinger First published in 1944]

      To paraphrase these concepts - Life therefore appears to be a revolt against the rules of Nature. Life is a paradox …. The most basic rule of inanimate nature is that it tends toward equilibrium which is at the maximum of entropy (i.e. disorder) and the minimum of free energy. Life goes against this trend …..the main characteristic of life is that it tends to decrease its entropy. (builds and maintains structure and order)
      It also tends to increase its free energy.

      Maximum entropy means complete randomness, disorder. Life is made possible by order structure, a pattern, which is the opposite of entropy. This pattern is our chief possession, it was developed over billions of years. The main aim of our individual existence is its conservation and transmission.”

      How does the living organism avoid decay? The obvious answer is: By eating, drinking, breathing and (in the case of plants) assimilating. The technical term is metabolism. What then is that precious something contained in our food which keeps us from death? That is easily answered. Every process, event, happening - call it what you will; in a word, everything that is going on in Nature means an increase of the entropy of the part of the world where it is going on. Thus a living organism continually increases its entropy - or, as you may say, produces positive entropy - and thus tends to approach the dangerous state of maximum entropy, which is death. It can only keep aloof from it, i.e. alive, by continually drawing from its environment negative entropy. What an organism feeds upon is negative entropy.
      i.e.
      [Carnivores feed on negative entropy - the structure of plants, and this generates the energy the animal needs to maintain its own structure and stay alive. Plants extract the sun's energy to build and maintain their structure in the constant battle against entropy]
      see www.ozh2o.com for more if you like (old site needs fixing)

    2. Fiction Teller profile image61
      Fiction Tellerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It is not clear who the target audience is.  I can think of a few types who'd search for "entropy" and they differ quite a bit:  people who want "entropy" defined because they encountered the word, students who want to learn more about the second law, amateur scholars interested in its philosophical implications (e.g. a la Rifkin), scientists wanting an in-depth analysis, and people who couldn't care less but just want to be entertained by something amusing.  Rare is the article that satisfies all possible visitors equally, so there should be at least some emphasis on, and commitment to, one angle to grab that audience.

      To solve this problem, if it were my article, I'd work on a strong introduction that makes it clear to anyone that lands on the page exactly what the page offers, so visitors know if it's for them ASAP.

      This will help avoid the dreaded bounce behavior.  Visitors dislike investing their time in pages that don't ultimately answer their question.  If they're forced to read too far before it becomes clear, they not only bounce away, but they send signals in their browsing behavior (like bouncing to the next SERP entry) that the result shouldn't be on the first page of the SERPs for that keyword. 

      Both the summary and a strong intro can help prevent this.

      1. paradigmsearch profile image60
        paradigmsearchposted 9 years agoin reply to this

        Thanks. I tossed out the word "thermodynamics" and made it more obvious where the article was going. Sooner or later, I will get it right. big_smile

        1. Fiction Teller profile image61
          Fiction Tellerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Hmm, not sure I expressed it right.  It's still vague who the piece is for.  Is it for someone who already knows what entropy is?  Seems to be, because it jumps right into analysis before it ever introduces or defines.  Yet it also frequently takes the tone of something basic and educational.  These are contradictions that'll confuse both newbies and experts.

          At this point, the article as written looks to be more for people who know what entropy is.  So, if it were mine, before I got into anything else, I'd begin it along the lines of:

          "Following are my thoughts on the implications of entropy, otherwise known as the second law of thermodynamics.  Don't know what entropy is, or how many laws of thermodynamics there are? Not sure you care?  First, go HERE (some link or other).   

          So...if you're still reading, you probably know that entropy is the inevitable move toward increasing disorder.  Maybe you even know such-and-such.  Or thus-and-such.  Pretty cool.  But is that all there is?  Is there anything else interesting about entropy?  Oh, yeah, baby..."

          1. paradigmsearch profile image60
            paradigmsearchposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks. Wished I'd put that scientific link in there on day one. As you said, would have prevented the probably awful bounce rate that now makes google hate this hub. Oh, well. Is resurrection now possible? Or has Google already reached the intractable stage? Probably the latter. Especially since I guess there really are no keywords for the reader the hub is for. This hub was written during my innocent and formative years. Because of the keyword issue, wouldn't write such a hub today. I'll keep it around though. I'm fond of it.

            1. Fiction Teller profile image61
              Fiction Tellerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

              Paradigmsearch, I wish I knew.  My guess is, if it meets certain standards, there's a more than trivial chance it'll wake up.   Eventually.  But that's about it.  You'd probably be better served to write another hub altogether that's kind of a summation and link to this one from it, saying, "If you're interested in this kind of thing, THIS is where I talk about it in lavish detail."

  2. paradigmsearch profile image60
    paradigmsearchposted 9 years ago

    I see my OP disappeared. What's up with that?

    Anywho, thanks, Janderson. I implemented your changes. Here's hoping! smile

    1. janderson99 profile image54
      janderson99posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thought police did not like quote from 70 year old book, I guess - anyway cheers! Perhaps you got whacked for self promotion - probably both, time to go.

 
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