Re: philosophical curiosity in a long summer afternoon

["Scott D. Kniffin" <Scott.D.Kniffin.1@gsfc.nasa.gov>]

>No.   Entropy was the furthest thing from my mind.  But, since you mention
>it, entropy would be expected to increase where ever heat is being added to
>a system.
>TDC @ ehssun.lbl.gov on 98/07/22 17:15:54
>
Good grief, the entropy of the universe is always increasing.  Remember the
laws of thermodynamics? 
1. You can't win.
2. You can't break even.
3. You can't even quit the game.

If we have to worry about the moral implications about using atoms in the
planet for our needs, we might just as well kill ourselves and every other
living thing on the planet out of respect for the universe for uselessly
wasting energy.  This ranks up there with people who feel that baking bread
is genocide because of the billions of yeast cells that die in the cooking
process.  (I am not making that up, I know one of these people.)  You want
a philosophical debate?  How about, is it fair of me to subject my
co-workers to more of my gastrointestinal distress brought on by eating
questionable fast food during my conference last week by consuming more
fast food today, or should I simply eat an entire loaf of whole wheat bread
to spare them and kill some yeasts for the shear pleasure of it?

Split atoms, not wood!

Scott Kniffin

mailto:Scott.D.Kniffin.1@gsfc.nasa.gov
RSO, Unisys Corp. @ Lanham, MD
CHO, Radiation Effects Facility, GSFC, NASA, Greenbelt, MD

The opinions expressed here are my own.  They do not necessarily represent
the views of Unisys Corporation or NASA.  This information has not been
reviewed by my employer or supervisor.