3 ms·
This was a very well-written and interesting piece. I disagree with the general premise that this is generally related to thermodynamics, even at the nanoscale.
by wil3 8y ago
This was a very well-written and interesting piece. I disagree with the general premise that this is generally related to thermodynamics, even at the nanoscale. Accumulated errors can be corrected with additional energy input---that's the premise of error-correcting codes used in DNA. Were it not for error-correction, DNA mutation rates would be much higher than we observe. In principle, couldn't living things develop similar machinery for correcting other accumulated errors (albeit at the expense of requiring additional energy).
- stcredzero 8y agoRight. Years ago, there was this creationist/anti-evolution fallacy going around called the "thermodynamics of matter." The fallacious premise was that matter in a bounded system would always get more disorganized. Really, this was just a misappropriation of thermodynamics. You can disprove this with a simple thought experiment with an hourglass shaped glass vial containing salt in one section and water in another. If you can get energy, you can reorganize matter.