Super fact 73 : The second law of thermodynamics, or the fact that entropy is always increasing in an isolated system does not contradict evolution. Life is not a closed system. The environment is providing energy, the sun is providing energy, geological forces are providing energy, etc.
A lot of people have never heard of the second law of thermodynamics, or entropy and are unaware of the claim that the second law of thermodynamics contradicts evolution. So how can debunking this claim be surprising, and a super fact? The reason is that this is a popular claim among creationists and according to this Gallup poll 40% of Americans believe in creationism. The fact that this popular but false claim is rooted in a very basic misunderstanding of the second law of thermodynamics and what entropy is makes it super fact.
In the past I’ve read many creationist books that make the claim that the second law of thermodynamics contradicts evolution. One of them was Scientific Creationism (1985) by Henry M. Morris (the father of modern creation science), where he stated that the second law of thermodynamics says that everything tends towards disorder, making evolutionary development (ordering) impossible. The Death of Evolution: Restoring Faith and Wonder in a World of Doubt by Jim Nelson Black, another book I read, and which I gave a one star review on Amazon, makes the same claim. I’ve also come across a lot of people making this claim.
The people who make the claim that the Second Law of Thermodynamics contradict evolution typically do not understand the second law of thermodynamics and do not know what entropy is. Despite that fact they see it as a powerful argument against evolution. I’ve even seen it used against highly respected physics professors who “believe in”, well accept the reality of evolution, by people who had no understanding of the second law of thermodynamics. At one point I even believed the claim myself. Then I studied physics, and well, oops, I was forced to admit that I had been bamboozled.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the total entropy (disorder) of an isolated system always increases over time. This means that natural processes tend to move from order to disorder (within the isolated system). It should be noted that disorder is a popular but imperfect metaphor for entropy. Entropy is not the same thing as what people think of as disorder. In physics entropy refers to the logarithm of the number of microstates compatible with the system’s measurable macroscopic state. As molecules randomly arrange themselves into new macroscopic states, the number of possible microstates will increase.
It also means that heat will spontaneously flow from hotter to colder objects, but never the reverse. Another thing it means is that mechanical energy can be converted to thermal energy, but never the reverse. It turns out that those seemingly different statements are physically identical.
It is very possible that the entropy of an organism is lower compared to a blob corresponding to all its molecules randomly distributed within a blob. However, that organism did not evolve in isolation inside a hermetically enclosed box without any energy from the outside. Life and evolution operate in an environment full of energy coming from the sun, the Earth, winds, oceans, geological forces, radiation, etc. Evolution does not take place in an isolated system.
It is also important to understand that within an isolated system, pockets of lower entropy can form if they are offset by increased entropy elsewhere within the system. That’s what the word “total” in total entropy means. Crystal formation is an example of creating local pockets of lower entropy (less “disorder”) within a system, but this is always accompanied by a greater increase in entropy in the surroundings. The Universe is an isolated system so the entropy within the Universe should always increase, but again the local pockets of lower entropy that evolution may create are accompanied by a greater increase of entropy elsewhere.
Below is a YouTube video explaining how the second law of thermodynamics does not contradict evolution.
Entropy – Arrow of time
An interesting aspect of the second law of thermodynamics is that it makes entropy serve as an arrow of time. In general, the fundamental laws of physics are time reversible. The equations work the same forwards and backward in time. The equations for gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong nuclear force work the same regardless of time’s direction. An example is if you filmed a planet orbiting a star and played it backward, it would still follow the laws of motion the same way.
Throw a bunch of billiard balls on the floor and film them bouncing and hitting each other and the walls. If you then run the film backwards and forwards it would be far from obvious which is forward and which is backwards, except for the fact that the balls will slow down due to friction. However, balls slowing down due to friction is mechanical energy turning into heat, which is an example of the second law of thermodynamics. The fundamental laws of physics are time reversible, but the second law of thermodynamics is a notable exception. Entropy always increases in an isolated system (like the Universe). By measuring entropy, you can distinguish the past from the future, giving time a direction
Another evolution related post is: Evolution is a fact
To see the other Super Facts click here
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HI Thomas, it is good to see this clear and easy to understand refutation of a common misconception.
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Thank you so much Robbie. It is a misconception so common among creationsts and it spreads to others too.
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Yes, it would
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Thank you very much, Thomas. A very interesting post. I didn’t realise this was being used to generate propaganda.
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Thank you so much Lynette. I assume you mean creationist propaganda and if so, yes it is very much used to bamboozle people.
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Yes, I do mean creationist propaganda. I think this is less of an issue here since we overwhelmingly believe in evolution while at the same time the importance of – or belief in – religion has been dropping off more and more each year.
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That is what I thought. Thank you Lynette. Various forms of anti-evolution propaganda is also very widespread in the middle east.
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I think you posted the percentage earlier, but I still find it shocking that such a high percentage of Americans do not believe in evolution. Good work at debunking it. Maggie
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Thank you so much for your kind words Maggie
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Oddly enough, thermodynamics was my daughter’s favorite class in college though nothing about it doesn’t confuse me. Loved the video, though.
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That is interesting. I liked Thermodynamics too but as we moved into statistical mechanics it became challenging, especially the quantum physics version of statistical mechanics. It is great that it doesn’t confuse you. Thank you Jacqui.
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She thrived on theoretical calculus but floundered in programming. I can only imagine what statistical mechanics involves!
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Oh theoretical calculus. She would have loved statistical mechanics. That’s for math geniuses. In college we started with thermodynamics and the follow up class was statistical mechanics. That was a tough class and that’s when I had a ski accident in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and lost my memory. I passed the class but not with a good grade.
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Lost your memory! That would be a challenge. Yikes.
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Yes I had a bad shoulder displacement, hit my head, concussion and got amnesia. It didn’t help me on the final exam and my professor refused to give me more time to heal and catch up.
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Was that supposed to be tough love? Hmm…
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After returning from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, I walked into his office with my left arm and shoulder in cast and I told him about my accident, my amnesia, and that it took a while to recover and for my memory to come back. I lost time not studying because I had been bedridden and too confused to study anything. I asked him for another week or two weeks. He just asked me, “are you left handed or right handed?” I said right handed . Then he said, then you are taking the test on time. I am not sure if it was tough love but I my guess is that he might have heard the excuse about amnesia before. Statistical Mechanics was that kind of class. However, in my case it was real.
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I’m never sure if people just don’t understand that a subsystem of a closed system can be an internally non-closed system, or if they just like to argue in bad faith …
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Yes that is an excellent way of making the point. You understand it very well. Some people have a really hard time. The guy I mentioned Henry M. Morris was an engineer who wrote dozens books on the subject and he never got it.
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This is a crystal-clear rebuttal to a persistent scientific misconception. I appreciate how elegantly you differentiate between a closed system and an open one. Your analogy of crystal formation brilliantly grounds the concept of local lower entropy. This is a vital super-fact that replaces confusion with genuine scientific clarity.
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Thank you so much for your very kind and supportive words Livora
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Great.
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Thanks for the clear explanation. I suppose one can make any “facts” fit the conclusion if the conclusion is foregone. If I believe God created the world in the manner I believe the Bible says, facts must point that way
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Yes you can’t make up facts without making sure they are actually correct. The people making the claim that the second law of thermodynamics contradict evolution just believe what someone says without understanding what the law really states and what it means. When something sounds good and useful for a certain position it spreads like wildfire true or not.
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Java Bean: “Ayyy, I would like to hear more about the balls bouncing around and hitting each other, please! Can I chase them?!”
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Yes lots of rendomly bouncing balls is more fun and more entropy. Entropy is happiness and you chasing them adds more happiness.
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oh! this is really good – well done you!
and best wishes for 2026 – may it be… less contradictory!
Linda 💚🎄❤️
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The problem is that Christians sometimes speak without knowing, and that’s why I like The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark Noll. Henry Morris was an engineer who focused on hydraulics, but he wasn’t a physicist, physical chemist, or chemical engineer, those are the experts in thermodynamics. I, for one, don’t know much about creationism or evolution beyond what I’ve read in books and articles, but that doesn’t make me an expert. I’m a Christian, and I’m not sure why some Christians engage in this kind of public debate, as Henry Morris did and others still do. We just need to live our lives virtuously as best we can and support science, which has helped this world so much.
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