Does Entropy Mean We Can’t Live Forever?
- © Nils Osmar 2025. January 28, 2025
- This post is not intended as, and should not be taken as, medical advice.
- See full Medical Disclaimer
Does the existence of entropy — a trend toward randomness, loss of information and disorder, which is hard-wired into the structure and functioning of our universe — mean that aging and death are inevitable? Maybe, but maybe not.
I read discussions now and then in which people use entropy to justify their pessimism about extreme longevity. Their argument is, essentially, that in our universe, everything tends (ultimately) toward entropy; so we all have to die. Gary Churchill makes this argument in this video clip.
He’s right in a sense. But…
- We may or may not find a path to immortality, but it would be silly, IMO, to use entropy as an excuse for not trying.
- The people who do so are right that there’s a universal trend toward entropy. But the existence of life and evolution within the universe suggest that within these broad parameters, a trend greater order and complexity is also possible.
- Life’s a bit like an island in an ocean of entropy; a trend toward integration and complexity rising in the middle of a trend toward dissolution. A key factor is that life is what is called an open system in physics.
Borrowing from some summaries (courtesy of Google search and AI):
Closed Systems: In a closed system, which doesn’t exchange matter or energy with its surroundings, the total entropy always tends to increase over time. This means that the system naturally moves towards a state of greater disorder or randomness.
Open Systems: Open systems, however, can exchange matter and energy with their surroundings. This allows for the possibility of maintaining or even reducing entropy within the system, but only at the cost of increasing entropy in the environment.
For example, a living organism is an open system that maintains a high degree of order (low entropy) by consuming energy and matter from its environment, which in turn increases entropy in the environment.”
Also thanks to Google: “Life, in the context of thermodynamics and biology, is considered an open system because it continuously exchanges both matter and energy with its environment.”
Short version:
- Entropy applies to closed systems.
- Life is an open system.
- We’re still subject to the laws of entropy in a broad sense, but we have a lot of wiggle room. Life itself wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t.
- When the universe reaches full entropy in 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 million years (give or take a few hundred million), we may have to worry about it (unless we can somehow hitch a ride into the next oscillation of the universe.) In the meantime, it’s not a good excuse for not aiming for physical immortality.
Not medical advice
This article is not intended as, and should not be taken as, medical advice. I’m not advising that people eat any particular diet or take any particular supplement(s), just reporting on what I’m doing. Supplements, like medications and other interventions, can have side effects; I would encourage people to research both possible benefits and side effects before starting on any supplementation regimen, and consult with a medical professional about any issues which might have a medical component. See full Medical Disclaimer
Other resources
- My Youtube channel Pathways to Longevity
- My Facebook group: Anti-Aging and Life Extension,
