Bullshit Thermodynamics

22 Jun 2020

If we agree that, as Alberto Brandolini proposed in 2013, it takes an order of magnitude more effort to refute bullshit than it takes to produce it, this implies that societies are subject to the laws of thermodynamics.

A sea half of water and half of poison is not in balance.
A body half alive and half dead is not in balance.
— Seth Dickinson, Book of Unveiling

I think nihilism is the sociopolitical equivalent of entropy. Both are natural — even necessary, in moderation — yet lethal in excess. Civilization, like homeostasis, is not a stable equilibrium. Living systems require energy to maintain their internal relationships. Without upkeep, organisms and societies alike dissolve into randomness.