Entropy Bending
Reducing ethical entropy through intentional action
Entropy Bending is the practical application of Analytical Theism—the deliberate use of The Divine Algorithm to reduce disorder and increase flourishing in one's life and sphere of influence.
The term draws from thermodynamics: entropy is the measure of disorder in a system, and the second law states that entropy tends to increase over time. Yet living systems temporarily reverse this trend by importing energy and exporting entropy. Entropy Bending extends this concept to the ethical domain.
"Just as life bends the arrow of thermodynamic entropy locally while respecting it globally, so the moral agent can bend the arrow of ethical entropy—reducing disorder, increasing meaning, and creating pockets of flourishing in a universe that otherwise tends toward dissolution."
The Mechanism
Entropy Bending operates through three interconnected processes:
1. Information Integration
Radical honesty provides accurate information about reality. This information reduces uncertainty and enables targeted action rather than random flailing.
2. Directional Coherence
Orientation toward the greatest good provides a consistent direction. Without this, actions cancel each other out; with it, they compound.
3. Iterative Refinement
Recalibration enables learning from feedback. Each iteration improves the efficiency of entropy reduction.
Practical Application
Entropy Bending manifests in concrete practices:
- Personal development: Reducing internal disorder through self-knowledge, habit formation, and skill development
- Relationships: Creating order through honest communication, conflict resolution, and mutual support
- Work: Contributing value that exceeds entropy generated; building rather than merely consuming
- Community: Participating in institutions that coordinate human action toward shared goods
- Legacy: Creating structures (ideas, organizations, relationships) that continue reducing entropy after one's death
The goal is not to eliminate entropy—that's impossible—but to bend its trajectory in one's sphere of influence, creating local order that contributes to cosmic meaning.