Some of the tired old science-religion discussions concerning the origin of life claim that the emergence of complex structures from simple systems is not physically possible and violate the second law of thermodynamics. However, this is incorrect. The second law is a statement about CLOSED systems. (Your room gets messier and messier when there is no external energy input to organise it).
For those who wish to see some cool YouTube videos and a more technical discussion may find a recent post on my work-related blog interesting.
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Hmm. My room always gets messier because the energy I add is unfocused and unorganized.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the energy my wife adds is far more focused because she's organized, and so the room ends up cleaner.
"Some of the tired old science-religion discussions concerning the origin of life claim that the emergence of complex structures from simple systems is not physically possible and violate the second law of thermodynamics"
ReplyDeleteI think that many people (especially literal 6-24hr day creationists)aren't just concerned about "the emergence of complex structures from simple systems", but ANY living structures emerging from non-living chemicals. Whether it's a closed or open system, the emergence of living systems at all is baffling in the first place, especially considering the extremely harsh environment of the young earth. Of course, I could just be going down the well-worn 'god-of-the-gaps' path again, but there you go.