TAO 1- The Indescribable

The Tao that can be described is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be spoken is not the eternal Name.
The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth.
The named is the mother of creation.
Freed from desire, you can see the hidden mystery.
By having desire, you can only see what is visibly real.
Yet mystery and reality emerge from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness born from darkness.
The beginning of all understanding.

I certainly don’t understand Newton's law of Thermodynamics. 

Just as Robert Heinlein’s character Michael in Stranger in a Strange Land would “grok” it at a deep spiritual level, we grok the concept of a creative force but can’t explain it.

Thermodynamics is that drive, the border between entropy and enthalpy. 

It is mystery and reality.

In the beginning there was darkness, 

then the big bang collided p- and m- branes

- fired by the force of Thermodynamics.

TAO 2- Balance

When people see things as beautiful,

ugliness is created.

When people see things as good,

evil is created.

Being and non-being produce each other.

Difficult and easy complement each other.

Long and short define each other.

High and low oppose each other.

Fore and aft follow each other.

Therefore the Master

can act without doing anything

and teach without saying a word.

Things come her way and she does not stop them;

things leave and she lets them go.

She has without possessing,

and acts without any expectations.

When her work is done, she take no credit.

That is why it will last forever.

Begin a journey into the Yin and Yang- balancing creative forces. 

When one force occurs, the balancing force happens. 

Beauty balances Ugly. Light v. Dark. Good v. Bad.

Thermodynamics is the balance of entropy (Yin) and enthalpy (Yang)

As a part of the universe is organized, increasing enthalpy, another region must balance with an increase in disorder- entropy. 

One creates the other without cause and effect.

TAO 3- Enthaly and Ehtropy

If you overly esteem talented individuals,
people will become overly competitive.
If you overvalue possessions,
people will begin to steal.

Do not display your treasures
or people will become envious.

The Master leads by
emptying people's minds,
filling their bellies,
weakening their ambitions,
and making them become strong.
Preferring simplicity and freedom from desires,
avoiding the pitfalls of knowledge and wrong action.

For those who practice not-doing,
everything will fall into place.

 

In a universe balanced by enthalpy- an increase of order and complexity, and entropy- an increase in disorder, when one creative force occurs, by necessity the other must as well.

Increasing the complexity on Earth, bacteria evolving into humans, has resulted in a more efficient method of processing high quality energy from the sun into low quality heat.

Any attempt to manipulate one results in a balancing manipulation of the other.

TAO 4- The Source of Everything

The Tao is like an empty container:
it can never be emptied and can never be filled.
Infinitely deep, it is the source of all things.
It dulls the sharp, unties the knotted,
shades the lighted, and unites all of creation with dust.

It is hidden but always present.
I don't know who gave birth to it.
It is older than the concept of God.

The thermodynamic drive is a law, not an object, thing, or measurable quantity.  It was the initial creative force at the beginning of the “time arrow” or Big Bang.  It has been present forever and will remain unchanged forever.  You can’t touch it, describe it, or change it.

If you choose an anthropomorphic god, all it had to do was invent the law for our universe to exist.

TAO 5- Straw Dogs

Heaven and Earth are impartial;
they treat all of creation as straw dogs.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she treats everyone like a straw dog.

The space between Heaven and Earth is like a bellows;
it is empty, yet has not lost its power.
The more it is used, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you comprehend.

It is better not to speak of things you do not understand.

The law of thermodynamics stands on its own.  Religious rules, man-made laws, or silly beliefs have no effect- they are straw dogs.  Thermodynamics acts on the energy of the universe without regard to straw dogs.  The law doesn’t care if man wants to change it- that’s not possible.

Lao Tse’s concept of the bellows dates to a time before the realization that air consists of matter.  But matter and energy, being interchangeable, provide the power or engine that drives life.

This is a concept that can be described mathematically, but nearly impossible to understand beyond an emotional response.

TAO 6- Time Arrow

The spirit of emptiness is immortal.
It is called the Great Mother
because it gives birth to Heaven and Earth.

It is like a vapor,
barely seen but always present.
Use it effortlessly.

The arrow of time moves from total pure energy to total chaos- from the big bang to thermal death of the universe.  Thermodynamics defines the direction of time and demands that energy runs from high quality to heat in the most efficient manner possible. 

It is automatic, always driving, unseen.

TAO 7- Taodynamics

The Tao of Heaven is eternal,
and the earth is long enduring.
Why are they long enduring?
They do not live for themselves;
thus they are present for all beings.

The Master puts herself last;
And finds herself in the place of authority.
She detaches herself from all things;
Therefore she is united with all things.
She gives no thought to self.
She is perfectly fulfilled.

Thermodynamics has always been and will always be.  The organization we know to be Earth and life has been here for a long time, but not forever.  Life on our planet is not unique, but required by the law of thermodynamics.  Life exists because it is the most efficient way to dissipate high quality energy.

Thermodynamics doesn’t give a damn about anything man can imagine.  It just is.  It just does.