Daytona Beach, FL –
Ginsberg’s Theorem within IYAAP –
Ginsberg’s theorem is a parody of the laws of thermodynamics in terms of a person playing a game, first attributed to American poet Allen Ginsberg in a 1975 issue of the “Coevolution Quarterly.” Ginsberg, 1926–1997, was one of the leading figures of both the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the counterculture that soon would follow. He vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism, and was known as embodying various aspects of counterculture, such as hostility to bureaucracy.
Ginsberg’s Theorem is a restatement of the consequences of the first, second, and third laws of thermodynamics within the context of game theory.
1. You can’t win…
First Law: Energy is constant – neither created nor destroyed.
2. You can’t break even….
Second Law: Entropy is always increasing.
3. You can’t even get out of the game.
Third Law: The entropy of a perfect crystal at absolute zero is exactly zero.
References to games and this parody are presented in order and appear scattered throughout the story. At Assignment Night, Ray learns his fate from Lieutenant Colonel Ginsberg. As a First Assignment Instructor Pilot, he can’t even get out of the game.
Who says science can’t be fun? Click on the YouTube icon below to see my video promo on “Ginsberg’s Theorem.”