A few years ago I saw a quote up on the wall on the MRG lab in Helsinki, and I’m wondering if anyone knows its provenance. It went something like this:
The Second Law of Thermodynamics, as it applies to life, states that organisms survive by making a bigger mess of their environment.
which seems rather appropriate. I was reminded of this because I’m reading a manuscript and I think this totally undermines one minor sentence.
(and yes, I could just ask a present or former member of the MRG, but that would be no fun)
I tried to find a YouTube clip of Flanders’ & Swann’s take on the first and second laws, but if it’s there they won’t let me watch it. sniff
I did, however, find a wonderful little animation of Tom Lehrer’s The Elements.
I always preferred the Hippopotamus song. Which also relates to your MRG quote.