Claim CF001.2:

The entire universe is a closed system, so the second law of thermodynamics dictates that within it, things are tending to break down. The second law applies universally.

Source:

Wallace, Timothy, 2002. Five major evolutionist misconceptions about evolution. http://www.trueorigins.org/isakrbtl.asp

Response:

  1. The second law of thermodynamics applies universally, but, as everyone can see, that does not mean that everything everywhere is always breaking down. The second law allows local decreases in entropy offset by increases elsewhere. The second law does not say that order from disorder is impossible; in fact, as anyone can see, order from disorder happens all the time.

  2. The maximum entropy of a closed system of fixed volume is constant, but because the universe is expanding, its maximum entropy is ever increasing, giving ever more room for order to form (Stenger 1995, 228).

  3. Disorder and entropy are not the same (Styer 2000). The second law of thermodynamics deals with entropy. There are no laws about things tending to "break down."

References:

  1. Stenger, Victor J., 1995. The Unconscious Quantum, Amherst, NY: Prometheus.
  2. Styer, Daniel F. 2000. Insight into entropy. American Journal of Physics 68(12): 1090-1096.
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created 2000-11-4, modified 2006-1-13