Entropy - God's Dice Game: The book describes the historical evolution of the understanding of entropy, alongside biographies of the scientists who ... communication theory, economy, and sociology

This book is .. a masterpiece. and would have become a bestseller.... And I wish it to become a bestseller .... “Entropy” tells the story of physical quantity, entropy, or rather the nature law that defines it, the second law of thermodynamics. The first half of the book is a scientific history, and more or less trying to explain in a plain and understandable language a hard-to-explain subject. Weather it succeeds in it or not, the main thing is to go through the second and more philosophical half. Once the concept of entropy is an integral part of probabilistic world, it can be a part of any other probabilistic world. And here is where the great advocates of the physical approach to Social Studies can hold their heads up. The book explains in a different way, and I think clearer one, what another book released last year (“The Social Atom”) tried to claim – our world is conducted by the laws of nature and not by chance, at least not by chance as we interpret the term “chance”. We really have no freedom of choice to determine where the world is heading to because even the concept of “free choice” needs redefinition. The law of nature, according to Kafri, is second law of thermodynamics. The moment we understand what entropy is, we understand well what chance is and what free will is. Kirkus reviews A remarkably complex yet fascinating scientific exploration that illuminates a particularly thorny area of physics for laypersons and professionals alike. What is entropy? It’s a measure of uncertainty, but how is it defined in nature? How does it relate to other things like corporate communications and social networking? These are all questions that some of the most brilliant minds of the 19th and 20th centuries have pondered. Whether or not readers who don’t wear lab coats will comprehend this latest foray into the inner workings of the physical world depends largely on a reader’s determination and ability to wade through hieroglyphic formulas that extend far beyond freshman physics. This isn’t StarTalk Live or even Cosmos, but rather an ambitious textbook that seeks to appeal to learned scientists without leaving the rest of us numskulls behind. Gently paced discussions about “symmetrical” and “asymmetrical” networks having profound implications for achievable concepts in air travel and online communication perhaps come closest to hitting the mark. Generous bios of entropy’s greatest thinkers, meanwhile, add a much-needed human element to the proceedings. Nevertheless, even overviews of such giants in the field as James Clerk Maxwell and Claud Elwood Shannon come dangerously close to becoming dry resumes rather than engaging biographies. Take, for instance, this crisply written revelation: “Today, Shannon’s insight is part of the design of virtually all storage systems that digitally process and transfer information from flash memories on through computer and telephone communication, to space vehicles.” Although a few of these intriguing biographical bits might appeal to a wider audience, readers searching for a deeper exploration of “black body radiation” and the Second Law of Thermodynamics might consider Ludwig Boltzmann’s personal struggles an intrusion. An earnest examination that walks the tightrope between the scientific community and casual readers. Contents Prologue Part I: Physical Entropy Chapter 1: Entropy and the Flow of Energy Chapter 2: Statistical Entropy Chapter 3: The Entropy of Electromagnetic Radiation Part II: Logical Entropy Chapter 4: The Entropy of Information Chapter 5: Entropy in Social Systems Conclusion Appendices Biographical Sketches Bibliography Endnotes "The book describes the historical evolution of the understanding of entropy, alongside the biographies of the scientists who contributed to its definition and exploration of its effects in exact sciences, communication theory, economy and sociology." --Cover.