HUMAN COLONY FORMATION 



processes. A hot body loses heat faster to the surround- 

 ings than a less hot one. A cube of ice will melt faster 

 as the temperature of the ambient increases. Complex 

 organic chemical compounds generally break down 

 more readily than simpler ones, as the temperature is 

 increased. Living matter is even more sensitive to high 

 temperatures which above a certain level inevitably 

 produce death. 



As living matter becomes more complex, its chances 

 of remaining alive become more dependent upon its 

 ability to overcome the increased "randomizing" pres- 

 sure of its surroundings. The development of the so- 

 cietal organism results in a very considerable increase 

 of complexity of organization. The problem of per- 

 petuation of a system of such a higher order of com- 

 plexity in an environment which is far more random, 

 is consequently a difficult one. One way in which the 

 effect of the differential between the extropy of a sys- 

 tem and its surroundings could be minimized, would 

 be to insulate such a system with material arranged in 

 such a fashion, as to represent an intermediate layer, 

 that exhibits an entropy level somewhere in between 

 the level of the system and the more general surround- 

 ings. Such a phenomenon actually appears to be taking 

 place. Therefore, one may conclude, that the tendency 

 of the societal organism to modify its surroundings in 

 an orderly fashion, is the consequence of nothing less 

 than thermo-dynamic necessity. This consideration 



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