Over the past year, I have drawn parallels between the workings of the mind and physics enough times that the topic warrants its own post. Let’s introduce this concept by discussing the parallels between Thermodynamic Laws and your specific, meaningful life.
In a sentence, The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed - it can only be transformed. Thoughts can be considered a form of energy especially if we believe in the validity of willpower or phrases like “Mind over matter.” Let’s call the energy of thought cognitive energy.
In the paradigm of The First Law of Thermodynamics, thought can be viewed from two vantages: as physical energy or as psychic energy. If we subscribe to this Thermodynamic Law and the idea that thought is a form of energy, this means our thoughts must have a source and an outlet. Let’s consider this quadrumvirate for a moment:
The Source of Thoughts:
The physical source of your thoughts can be quite straightforward for the rational-minded reader. Our current understanding of neuroscience informs us that thoughts are powered by action potentials along neurons. The ions powering these action potentials were catabolized by your metabolic system which used carbohydrates and electrolytes ingested by your digestive system. The carbohydrates of course came from a plant you ate at lunch today. This plant built up a body of carbohydrates by photosynthesizing energy from the sun. In line with The First Law of Thermodynamics, we can draw a causal line of energy from the sun to a wandering thought.1
If we consider the source of thoughts through the lens of psychic energy, we arrive at a similar conclusion: what you consume influences what you think. To clarify, psychic energy refers to the energy that cannot be reliably measured by our scientific instruments. This differs from the physical, where we can measure and even harness its energy such as those from action potentials, carbohydrates, and solar rays. Psychic energy refers to the energy that influences our thoughts but isn’t easily or possibly measured in today’s paradigm. For example, the emotional tension in a room can influence the way we think even though we cannot practically measure it.2
Since energy cannot be created nor destroyed, the thoughts and beliefs we harbor must stem from somewhere - whether it’s the adoption of the moral themes from our favorite TV shows or programming from our cultural roots. In my essay titled Novitate, I dive much deeper into this idea that our beliefs stem from somewhere, particularly causal sources like mimetic desire and programming which can be traced like our chain of physical energy.
If you think you can’t be influenced by what you consume, just know you are fighting against a very basic physical law of the universe, much like trying to defy gravity. Of course this isn’t impossible since we have built planes and other mechanisms to overcome physical laws, but such achievements occur only through extraordinary levels of effort.
The Outlet of Thoughts
On the opposite end of the spectrum, our thoughts do not simply end as thoughts. Physically, your thoughts bleed over into your actions, whether as your absent-minded decisions, vocal tone, posture, or body language. For example, if you observe someone who believes himself to be smarter than everyone, you may notice it bleed through in a condescending vocal tone. Even if he makes concerted efforts to disguise such a belief, the physical energy of those thoughts still find an outlet.
Nervous habits, tics, and neurotic behavior could be explained as an outlet of cognitive energy. As thoughts race in our heads when we feel nervous, they become translated into nail-biting, fidgeting, or some other habit. Over time, perhaps neurotic behavior emerges when creative or productive outlets are not exercised for an active mind. I personally notice an increase in anxious energy and racing thoughts when I’m not engaged in productive activities that serve as an outlet for my thoughts. Examples include creative work at my W2, writing, and strenuous physical exercise, particularly cardiovascular intensive exercise.
Exploring the outlet of thoughts in terms of psychic energy carries religious and spiritual overtones. It is an age-old question that many have offered answers to: Where do our thoughts go? Some would say our thoughts go somewhere and enter the equation on our judgment day after death. Others would argue that psychic energy has a tangible impact on others through an unseen medium like electromagnetic waves or as our New Age friends would say: vibrations. Manifestation is an entire belief system built around this notion that our thoughts have a real impact on the world. Of course, many would argue such beliefs are ludicrous gobbledygook due to their lack of scientific grounding, but is science the only juror on what is real?
Kinetic vs Potential Energy
Although your thoughts must find an eventual outlet per Thermodynamic Law, your brain can act like a battery and hold a certain amount of cognitive energy before its exodus. In physics, this refers to kinetic and potential energy. Something that holds a large amount of transferable energy contains potential energy. Examples include batteries, unburned wood, and a rollercoaster at its apex. Au contraire, kinetic energy refers to the energy associated with motion such as electricity flowing through a circuit, heat from a burning object rising, and the descent of a rollercoaster.
If we model the brain as a distinct system from the rest of the world, thoughts traveling within the brain could be called potential energy while the outlet of those thoughts are akin to kinetic energy. Kinetic energy can either be directly translated from the brain to a productive, creative outlet, or it can leak out as chaotic nervous kinetic energy like tics and nail biting. Such nervous kinetic energy happens when there is a build up of potential energy and no creative outlet present.
If we create a model out of these principles, we find a system that looks like the following image:
This model illuminates two distinct paths - one of productive kinetic energy in which cognitive energy flows through you to a new, creative destination and the other in which cognitive energy remains trapped within you as potential energy and spills out as anxious kinetic energy.
By thermodynamic law, your thoughts did not originate from within you. Your latest novel thought was borrowed from the world’s physical and psychic energy. It is only fair if you give this energy back to the world in a productive manner. Keep the energy flowing through you rather than hoarding it for yourself - it’s best for everyone involved.
If we consider this concept through the lens of our next Law of Thermodynamics, the path of potential energy leads us down the path of entropy while the path of productive kinetic energy leads us down a new path.
Law #2
According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, we can observe that everything in the universe gradually moves towards entropy or disorder. This applies to your mind as it too gradually decays into a chaotic state without constant, cognitive effort. Without actively engaging your mind through learning, relationships, creative work, physical activity, and/or joining a mission larger than yourself; your mind, and everything it encompasses, including feelings of fulfillment, belonging, and stability, deteriorates into chaos.
If we are to believe this Second Law of Thermodynamics applies to the contents of each individual’s mind, we must recognize The Myth of Sisyphus holds valid: life is a constant battle against entropy, and we must imagine that one who accepts his fate yet continues to play the game is the most alive and therefore the most happy.
One could argue that since entropy is the natural trend of the universe, why should someone attempt to swim upstream rather than succumb to the flow? The author argues that such a nihilistic view leads the thirsty soul to an empty well of meaningless existence. Why exist in the first place if you have no ambitions beyond deteriorating into the chaos from which you originated?
The path of productive kinetic energy offers an escape from this absurdity. Through this path, life - which can be simply described as the organization of energy - can persist despite the body’s inevitable entropic destination. In other words, by giving something back to the world, we can create a sense of meaning amidst the game against entropy.
The path of meaning involves finding a new game to play in which the fight against entropy is part of the game rather than the objective of the game. We must imagine Sisyphus much happier if his objective was to identify bugs along his path rather than simply carrying his rock as high as possible. In the former, he can make progress and find meaning in the process of carrying his rock even when the rock slips and falls down the hill. If his objective was the latter, he can quickly despair at his inevitable fate of dropping his rock.
The battle against entropy is a means to influence those around us. It is not a sustainable path to enjoy exercise for the sake of exercise or learning for the sake of learning. These activities that defy entropy are a means to a greater calling. Exercise might be a way for you to process stress or it's a way to influence your children through example. Learning could serve as an input to your next productive venture or it could be a way to nurture valuable traits like curiosity or creativity.
All of this is to say that the battle against entropy requires you to identify your why. Find your why and it becomes much easier to play Sisyphus’s game.
For those building something outside of themselves, entropy has further applications. Your mind and its contents deteriorate without constant remodeling, much like your muscles and bones, but anything we build with its own lifespan is subject to entropic decay as well. Examples include relationships, businesses, creative endeavors, or even our legacy after death.
How do man made institutions endure even after their creator’s death? Systems - some deliberately designed to fend off entropic decay while others grow organically. This is why many businesses sink large swathes of time into articulating and proselytizing mission statements, vision statements, and core values. Others have put their message into accessible mediums while relying on word of mouth or publishers to spread their values. Even others relied on unpredictable technology and coincidence - perhaps a serendipitous renaissance was born from an adolescent’s viral Tiktok about an obscure book.
For those of us who aren’t owners of large businesses but wish for our values to stand the test of time, we must invest in systems and relationships that ensure the effort needed to overcome entropy persists after our passing. Otherwise, we rely on mere luck.
The lowest effort way to ensure our values are conserved over time is through voting. In a democratic system, we have the opportunity to vote for people who champion our values and enact them into law for future generations. Perhaps this is a naively idealistic view of the democratic system since antagonistic incentives frequently cloud the judgment of politicians seeking to represent their constituents. Regardless, this example merely intends to get the reader’s thoughts in motion; there are many other ways to vote or materialize your values into the world around you.
Conclusion
The parallels between physics and your specific, personal experience are unending. One could argue they are intertwined. Since we were able to spend the better part of a coffee break solely discussing thermodynamics, we will pause before we resume our discussion on Newtonian motion.
The energy originated much earlier but let’s oversimplify for the sake of argument
Perhaps someday we will see the invention of an algorithm that evaluates body language, facial expressions, vocal tonality, and awkward pauses to calculate an emotional tension quotient. Sounds cool but highly impractical to implement and highly unreproducible