Before you roll your eyes and exit from this post, be assured I'm not going to be doing an in depth review of high school physics. My goal is to point out how understanding this very basic law of how the universe functions can help you have better health and a better life. That's a pretty bold statement!
There are various ways to express the 2nd law of thermodynamics, but in simple terms it states that without the application of external energy systems will become less energetic. So unless we apply energy, deterioration will occur. There is a tendency over time for things to become more chaotic. Although the law was specifically applied to heat systems, over the years it's been observed to be applicable in virtually every system imaginable. Physicists even apply it to the universe itself. I certainly see applications in health and life.
From a health standpoint, it indicates that without the application of energy our health is going to deteriorate. If we just leave our health to chance, we will become less healthy. Muscles must be exercised for them to remain strong, Proper motion must be maintained in joints or they will degenerate. Challenging our brains keeps our mental functions sharp. Even all our internal organs need to be used in order to be healthy. Heart and lung function decreases rapidly when they are not used vigorously. Energy needs to be applied to all these body systems for them to remain healthy. There is an even broader application. Unless we put energy into our overall health, it will deteriorate. Eating properly requires energy. Handling stress requires the application of energy. When we fail to apply energy to our overall health it deteriorates. Just leaving health happen on its own results in poor health. Sickness just happens. Health requires energy.
The 2nd law of thermodynamics also explains why marriages and all relationships fail without the application of energy. Businesses don't succeed unless the owners are constantly putting energy into improving products and services. Without the energy of maintenance our homes and autos deteriorate. Everything moves toward chaos unless energy is applied.
In my mind this is also the greatest stumbling block to the theory of evolution. Without the application of outside energy how can life move from less complex to more complex? We see no examples of this happening in science and the 2nd law of thermodynamics states that things become less efficient, less complex over time.
Want to be healthier? Want to have a better life? Apply energy! It's a law of physics.
2 comments:
Interesting post. I appreciate the connections you make with the 2nd law of thermodynamics and health, quite true and insightful. Thanks.
Over the years I've observed that whenever we fail to put energy into a give area of our lives that deterioration occurs. The trick is to figure out which areas are most crucial to apply the energy to.
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