Science on Compossible

Was It For This The Clay Grew Tall?

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 14:41:00 +0100

This essay discusses Chapters 19 and 24 of Things That Were Not There, Book One of After Intelligence*.

…Think how it wakes the seeds— Woke once the clays of a cold star. Are limbs, so dear-achieved, are sides Full-nerved, still warm, too hard to stir? Was it for this the clay grew tall?…

What is Entropy? – Part 2

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 13:32:42 +0000

What Is Entropy? (Part 2)

“But entropy, heat, past and future are qualities that belong not to the fundamental grammar of the world but to our superficial observation of it.”¹ (Carlo Rovelli, as quoted in The Guardian)

This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Part 1 set out what entropy measures and why it is not simply disorder. This part asks what that means for life: how living things use information and energy, why they must be efficient, and what their diversity has to do with the thermodynamics of the universe.

What is Entropy? – Part 1

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 07:38:07 +0000

“You cannot step into the same river, for fresh waters are ever flowing.”¹ (Heraclitus)

Entropy is a fundamental concept representing change and flow in the universe. It reflects the transformation of usable energy and the complexity of information uncertainty navigated by life-forms.

In a recent article on inequality I used the concept of entropy, so it seemed worthwhile to explain this much-misunderstood idea:

Towards a universal ethical framework

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 09:16:48 +0000

AI Podcasts #

Introduction #

“At this stage of history … either the general population will take control of its own destiny and will concern itself with community-interests, guided by values of solidarity and sympathy and concern for others; or … there will be no destiny for anyone to control.”¹ (Noam Chomsky)