The Pathological Altruist

[Elijah]

Exactly Dutch, you can't get out of the game, so now what?

Originally Posted by Dutch Leonard

Think of thermodynamics in these terms:

You can't win.

You can't break even.

You can't get out of the game.

Someone who wants to save everyone and everything ultimately destroys what they wanted to save in the first place. Same for the crazy cat lady and the spinal tap ordering doctor.

[tapu]

So... you lose.

[dreadgeek]

Originally Posted by tapu

So... you lose.

Ultimately, yes you do but I like to use the analogy of eating. When we eat, we temporarily reduce the amount of entropy in our bodies by taking in the materials of other living things. The thermodynamic books stay balanced because there are waste products that result from converting the energy of one living thing into another living thing. But the immediately local effect is that the total entropy of your body, for that moment, is reduced. Work is done. Matter is converted into energy.

Now, should you stop eating for a sufficient amount of time, entropy will catch up and your body will very quickly start toward a state of higher entropy as your metabolism crashes and then other living things start breaking you down, increasing the disorder in your body until your body no longer exists. Now, over time it doesn't matter how much or how well we eat, our body will break down so, again, entropy always wins in the long run but if you live the average lifespan for your time and place, that's still a *lot* of time at least holding one's own against entropy and I wouldn't call that a loss necessarily.

Cheers
Aj

[tapu]

Heya, AJ, I bet we hold the title for the shortest and the longest average posts forum-wide. We're Extreme!!

[Elijah]

I don't mind losing, but I think we are expected to put fourth some effort before we do, otherwise it's called surrender.

Originally Posted by tapu

So... you lose.

[SoNotHer]

Originally Posted by ElijahRene

Exactly Dutch, you can't get out of the game, so now what?

Stoppard answers just this in Arcadia. You live and you love and you fight entropy (my new cause - can you see the vistas ahead for this? The tee shirts, the placards and the marked whoopee cushions).

Again, I highly recommend at the very least a reading of the play. Watch and marvel :-)

[tapu]

That "Stoppard" again!! Is he your brother-in-law or something? Just kidding. <tapu ducks>

I'm wondering if anyone else needs a little background on how he comes into the picture here. I realize I could go read about who he is and the works you've recommended but in the short-run, could you fill me in on the connections you want to make just in the context of this conversation?

Thanks. I'm sorry if I'm being thick and could have picked up more from the preceding posts.

[Dutch Leonard]

Originally Posted by ElijahRene

Exactly Dutch, you can't get out of the game, so now what?

"Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations."