Home About
the Author Comments and Reviews Citations Interviews Introduction Table
of Contents Sample
Section: Entropy and Globalization
An Essay: Our World in
High Entropy An Essay: Time Travel: Possible or Impossible? Excerpts Foreign
Editions Foreword to the Chinese Edition Academia Where to Purchase the Book Contact us
This
book is about the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics--the Laws of Energy
and Entropy--applied to a wide range of human endeavor, including chemistry, cosmology,
medicine, education, agriculture, economics, globalization, technology,
ecology, and philosophy (entropy is a measure of the disorder of a system).
The last 200 years have brought humankind an impressive array
of technological marvels. These innovations have made their way into our
industries, homes, and places of work. We are now surrounded with all kinds of
“timesaving” devices, yet we have less time for ourselves than our parents and
grandparents had. It seems that nothing is impossible for the human race and
that we are in control of the world in which we live, yet biological and
electronic bugs and viruses are threatening us daily in complex and
unpredictable ways. World population and globalization of economies are growing
steadily, as are environmental and socioeconomic disorders. Our technological
powers are increasing, but so are their side effects and unintended
consequences.
In the Science of
Disorder, physicist and information technologist Jack Hokikian explains our
predicament through the Laws of Thermodynamics--the Laws of Energy and Entropy.
These laws control all processes in the universe, including our technologies
and activities. Dr. Hokikian gives a comprehensive review of the significance
of these fundamental Laws of Nature, especially as they apply to the
environment and to our lives. He shows us how we can attain--through the Laws
of Thermodynamics--a philosophy of life that can guide us in our daily actions
and decisions.