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Unscrambling the second law of thermodynamics →

Just to complicate things, and because this is like the Platonic form of a post I would make:

Cosma Shalizi is skeptical of Jaynes’ interpretation of the second law, saying it would actually imply that entropy decreases over time.

And Eliezer Yudkowsky is skeptical of Shalizi’s argument.  (See discussion here).

(I remember being confused by Shalizi’s argument when I first read it.  I should read it again.)

  1. automatic-ally reblogged this from exsecant-blog and added:
    Glad to hear it! So I don’t understand 3rd-law-related stuff all that well, and I’d highly appreciate addenda from...
  2. exsecant-blog reblogged this from automatic-ally and added:
    Nope, @automatic-ally, this is all pretty intelligible to someone with a low-to-moderate amount of physics background....
  3. nostalgebraist reblogged this from exsecant-blog and added:
    Having now re-read the paper, yes – Shalizi just gives a formal version of the argument you describe in your last...