T is for Time: "The Running Down of the Universe" by Arthur Eddington

 8-565

Other T Ideas: Temperance, Theology, Truth, Tyranny and Despotism

Summary:

Bonus: Time flies like a arrow; fruit flies like a banana

Commentary: "The modern outlook on the physical world is not composed exclusively of conceptions which have arisen in the last twenty-five years." If I ever care to set up this blog enough that it needs a tagline, that might be it.

I also like that he immediately points out the inaccuracy in his card shuffling analogy:

If you take a pack of cards as it comes from the maker and shuffle it for a few minutes, all trace of the original systematic order disappears. The order will never come back however long you shuffle.

But still points out that it's a useful illustration. This then continues to an illustration of Humpty Dumpty being restored via trampoline, which is fun. He uses some other nursery rhyme-type sayings, not all of which I recognize, so I'll have to research those.

Also interesting, all the page numbers in any piece that has something like, "We shall consider the first condition immediately; the second must be deferred until p. 575." are updated to match the GWGB pages. That makes sense, but it's one of those editorial things I'd never considered before.

This was an interesting one, and kind of challenging. The language is simple enough, but the physics/philosophy/math (I'm sure there's a philosophical term for this that I don't know. It seems kind of like metaphysics, but not quite.) is a lot to wrap my head around. Definitely one I'd want to have a notepad with me to reread. (Notes on notes coming next week!)

I think this is the origin (or at least the right author and popularizer) of "Time's Arrow".

Remember: Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

I like his distinction between primary (possible) and secondary (plausible). It aligns with some other philosophy stuff I've appreciated (Rosseau?) about worrying about what can realistically effect you, not all the random philosophical what ifs and ideals. 

I've always thought of entropy as "running out of" randomness, but I guess it's the opposite. I think in popular usage, it represents "as randomized as possible/matters", which is sort of the same thing. Eddington sort of gets there in a footnote, but will have to read more.

4/5: Interesting and enlightening. Gonna have to look up more Eddington to read.