DEFINITIONS: Extropy/Entropy?

Michael Lorrey (retroman@tpk.net)
Sat, 28 Dec 1996 23:05:41 -0500

Romana Machado wrote:
>
> >The definition of "extropy" has evolved over time. If there's to be a
> >discussion of it, it would be good to begin with the most current version,
> >as printed in Extropy #17.
>
> Sounds like a good plan to me. I hope that the most current definition will
> soon be more widely published and make its way to the web sites that
> concern it, and that Max More and Tom Morrow are credited as its
> originators forevermore.
>
> >
> >The current definition is" "Extropy -- the extent of a person's or a
> >culture's intelligence, information, vitality, diversity, opportunity, and
> >[personal] growth." "Personal" might be removed since it fits with person
> >but not very well with culture.
> >
>
THere was some debate on the definition of entropy, as it gets quite
loosely flung around these parts. Here's some reference from a paper by
Alex Frolov:

Clausius defined Entropy as "part of energy that can not be transformed
into work and is dispersing in heat", (this statement of Clausius is
translated from Russian book of 1916). W. Thomson used term 'entropy' in
next text: "The law of dissipation of energy (entropy) teaches us that
World is an organism developing in strictly appointed direction..."

So from this, I would take that in a human sense, anything wasteful
could be defined as entropic. Now, minimizing entropy would be extropic
as such activity would be seeking to maximize the utility of a given
resource. However, if expanding the resource base makes a current level
of entropy minimization non cost effective (and thus wasteful or
entropic itself) can extropy be entropic at times?

-- 
TANSTAAFL!!!


			Michael Lorrey
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