Disorderly Conduct: The Entropic Nature of Aging

As we age, life begins to mimic science.

See, in science, nearly everything can be viewed as a system, and in all systems, there is a certain degree of entropy. As systems age, entropy increases. So, what is entropy?

We expect and even demand order in all things such as our health, our faith, and our relationships—but that’s wholly unreasonable. Why? Because it’s normal and inevitable for life to go through periods of disorder.

In our desire for order, we spend a lifetime fighting the natural inclination of all systems to seek disorder. Sometimes though, the best course of action is to “ just embrace the suck.”

Order in life deteriorates faster than a knife fight in a phone booth. The homeostasis that once kept entropy at bay begins to lose its battle against the inevitable disorder. Like the uncontrolled growth of a cancerous cell, the compounding effect of entropy rages on.

I think we both can agree that order in life is often temporary and deceiving. Left to its own devices, life will always become less structured—less organized.

Tidy rooms in your home often return to their natural state of untidiness. Dust, clutter, and disorder are the natural state, and they’re undefeated.

Buildings start as new and modern, but eventually end up in decay. Their facade degrades through simple exposure to the unrelenting wind, rain, and sun. Once impenetrable, concrete cracks and gives way. Layers of paint chip and fade, and even the strongest of foundations will begin to lose their integrity over time.

Relationships begin as fresh and exciting, but the variables of life and the confusing, difficult process of aging can play tricks on the mind. It’s these variables that are the catalyst for entropy.

Despite the inevitability of aging, nobody can predict how it may erode the deepest bonds. Even the strongest of relationships can become entropic.

The irony of entropy is that disorder is life’s greatest teacher—a baptism of fire. See, it’s disorder that creates change. It’s disorder that creates energy. It’s disorder that creates growth.

A college professor wanted to teach his students the value of entropy, so he gave the class an assignment.

He told them to find a partner in the class and take twenty minutes to mutually ask each other the following questions:

1. What is the single best thing that ever happened to you?

2. What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?

3. What was the “turning point” of your life?

The irony of the assignment was this: nobody wanted to do it. Nobody. It was an exercise in extreme entropy—the randomness of selecting a partner, the uncertainty in being vulnerable with a total stranger about the most intimate aspects of your life, and the disorder of interrupting the natural rhythm of the class.

However, as the minutes ticked away, a funny thing happened. In groups of two, people laughed, people cried, people hugged, and when the time expired, nobody wanted it to end. Nobody.

The point of the lesson was this—life is full of randomness, uncertainty, and disorder. But, most of what we despair over and resist tends to be good for us.

The worst thing that ever happens to most people often ends up being the best thing that ever happened, given enough time and distance. In general, the alchemy of the best and worst things together often becomes the turning point of our lives.

For example, a life-threatening illness, like cancer, might be the worst thing that ever happens to you. The diagnosis certainly feels random, and it can create an enormous amount of fear and uncertainty.

Yet, the vulnerability of a life-threatening illness can change people. Despite the uncertainty, people often experience an overwhelming amount of love, caring, and connection to others. They also typically feel an immense appreciation for health, family, faith, friends, and healing hands. It can often become the turning point of life.

So, the worst thing that had ever happened to most students in the exercise—the thing that created the most entropy in their lives—almost always ended up being the best thing that ever happened to them. That moment of entropy became their fork in the road. The turning point of life.

It’s often a period of extreme entropy that allows for the renewal and restoration of the fabric of our lives. We eventually awake from the chaos, renewed and restored, with an entirely new appreciation for life.

It’s entropy that made us a better country. In the 1950s we were more racist, more sexist, and less tolerant of other nationalities.

It wasn’t until December 21, 1956, that the Supreme Court forced the Montgomery Public Transit System to permanently desegregate public transportation.

See, it took Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks to create the entropy that led to the 13-month Montgomery bus boycotts. It was a period of great uncertainty and disorder, but it led to enormous societal change.

Just sixty years ago, Black people couldn’t hold certain jobs, live in certain neighborhoods, or be partners in interracial marriages. Ironic, given this country was founded on “all men being created equal.”

The Civil Rights marches and events in the late 1960s were a period of great entropy. These peaceful protests eventually swayed lawmakers to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

It wasn't until 1974 that women were allowed to obtain credit cards in their own names. If a woman was married, her husband had to co-sign the application for credit. Changing those social norms and laws created disorder, as women suddenly found themselves independent with the same rights as men.

To drive important social changes, we had to temporarily abandon order and embrace disorder and uncertainty. It’s the natural desire to return to a semblance of order that drives change.

That is why life is so unpredictable and only gets more unpredictable as we age.

A life of entropy and hardship is not a new concept. For example, Queen Anne (1665-1714) was pregnant 18 times during her reign. Anne lost all 18 children before her own death: seven miscarriages, six stillbirths, and two more children died shortly after birth. Two died in infancy, and one died at age 11.

In 1702, her husband, William III, randomly fell from a horse. He died a few days later from pneumonia. After 18 pregnancies, there was no heir to the throne.

Yes, life today is full of randomness, uncertainty, and disorder. But, nobody today loses 18 children and a husband.

So, the next time you start to feel entropy rearing it’s ugly head, just remember that a person with higher entropy, resulting in a greater state of disorder and chaos, can actually be more motivated to improve their situation. That moment of disorder and chaos you encounter might just be the turning point of your life.

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