Entropy as Disorder

Metaphor: Entropy is often described as “disorder,” chaos, or the universe “falling apart.”

Problem / Misleading Aspect: This metaphor imports cultural and moral notions of tidiness, obscuring the statistical, relational nature of entropy. It suggests that physical systems are being judged or that they have an inherent tendency toward “messiness,” which is misleading. Entropy is not moral; it does not reward order or punish disorder—it quantifies relational possibilities.

Relational Ontology Correction: Entropy is a measure of potential configurations and their likelihood, not a cosmic assessment of neatness. Systems explore possibilities according to relational constraints, not preferences for order.

Parody / Conceptual Highlight: Taken literally, one might picture physicists tidying the universe with feather dusters, galaxies complaining about messy neighbors, or black holes tossing stars into cosmic recycling bins. The humour makes clear the conceptual danger: the disorder metaphor anthropomorphises statistical mechanics, implying judgment and morality where only relational potentials operate.