Why do we want more and more money regardless of how much we already have? Why do we hate to be manipulated and to lose? Why do twenty percent of the people own eighty percent of the wealth? Why in most languages, the most common word appears twice as often as the second most common word? Why the digit “1” appears in company balance sheets six and a half times more often than the digit “9”? Why does nature hate “bubbles”?
The cause for all these phenomena is the very same law that makes water flow from high to low, and heat – from hot place to a cold one. This law, which for historical reasons is called the second law of thermodynamics, states that there is a never-decreasing and always increasing quantity called “entropy”. The entropy represent the uncertainty of a system in hypothetical equilibrium state in which everybody and everything have equal opportunities but slim chances to win; or in other words - the majority have little and a few have a lot.
The book describes the historical evolution of the understanding of entropy, alongside the biographies of the scientists who contributed to its definition and exploration of its effects in exact sciences, communication theory, economy and sociology. The book is of interest to wide audience of scientist, engineers, students and the general public alike.
The cause for all these phenomena is the very same law that makes water flow from high to low, and heat – from hot place to a cold one. This law, which for historical reasons is called the second law of thermodynamics, states that there is a never-decreasing and always increasing quantity called “entropy”. The entropy represent the uncertainty of a system in hypothetical equilibrium state in which everybody and everything have equal opportunities but slim chances to win; or in other words - the majority have little and a few have a lot.
The book describes the historical evolution of the understanding of entropy, alongside the biographies of the scientists who contributed to its definition and exploration of its effects in exact sciences, communication theory, economy and sociology. The book is of interest to wide audience of scientist, engineers, students and the general public alike.
