Into the cool
by Eric D. Schneider · first published 2004
11mentions
10recommended by
10HN commenters
2014–2025first – last mentioned
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Argues that life and complexity arise from energy flow down gradients, tying the second law of thermodynamics to ecosystems; praised as accessible yet academic, suiting readers interested in entropy and biology.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Good read concerning this topic: Into the Cool (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52737.Into_the_Cool)
on “First Support for a Physics Theory of Life” ↗Into the Cool by Dorion Sagan and Eric Schneider is an excellent book on this subject, imo.
on “Entropy and Life” ↗Another great read on the subject "Into the Cool: Energy Flow, Thermodynamics, and Life - Eric D. Schneider, Dorion Sagan" https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/52737
on “Entropy and Life (2013)” ↗>living things take this weird detour into lower entropy Take a look at “Into the Cool” by Eric Schneider and Dorian Sagan. It’s about as academic as it can be while remaining accessible. It’s basic premise builds off of the truism that “nature abhors a gradient” and attempts to lay out…
on “A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning” ↗…entropy (which the universe seems to enjoy doing). Digging that oil up from the ground and the burning it does a tremendous amount to free up all that energy stored in a low-entropy system. The book Into the Cool makes an interesting case regarding this overall concept.
on “A stationary jet stream is fueling intense heat worldwide” ↗I'd add "Into the Cool" by Eric D. Schneider and Dorion Sagan to that reading list. I'm pretty sure that one was originally recommended here on HN, so I guess I'm feeding it back into the echo chamber. But well worth a read!
on “Is the emergence of life an expected phase transition in the evolving universe?” ↗Haven't read the book in question (which looks like a sci-fi novel), but saw that "Into the Cool"[0] was referenced in the link. In my opinion, a really under-rated book... should be up there with Godel Escher Bach etc. If anyone is interested in studying the Second Law... this is a much better…
on “Who will like this book?” ↗If you are interested in this, it is definitely worth reading the second half of "Into the Cool" by Sagan and Schneider. The book is mostly about thermodynamics, but the second half of it applies the study of thermodynamic complexity (ala Prigogine etc.) to ecosystems. It gave me a different view…
on “How Wolves Change Rivers [video]” ↗Dorion Sagan (Yes, Carl Sagan's son) also covers this in his book Into The Cool. That life is only a force multiplier in increasing it universally, basically.
on “Entropy explained, with sheep (2016)” ↗Entropy is tricky when it comes to life and other forms of complexity. The book "Into the Cool" explores this is away you might find very interesting. It spends a lot of time exploring the question of how the complexity of life emerges given the second law of thermodynamics. It argues pretty strongly…
on “Biodiversity decline will require millions of years to recover” ↗…don't think it ever will because just as we have biologists, we still need medical professionals that can diagnose and understand more specifically the bottom layers. Second question, someone mentioned Into The Cool, a book I'd like to also read that seems to take on this question. Third question... to evoke the previous answer, why not both?
on “Entropy and Life” ↗