The speaker discusses the legacy of the past and the concept of entropy in the universe. He starts by relating the story of Terry the dog who played Toto in "The Wizard of Oz", whose remains were disturbed after the construction of the Ventura Highway. A memorial was erected in her honor, but it is not a grave, but a cenotaph, as she is not buried there. The speaker then delves into the concept of entropy, often called disorder or chaos, which is not the same as macroscopic messiness. He explains that entropy increases in the universe due to energy dispersal and the work done in shuffling a deck of cards. He also discusses the second law of thermodynamics, which states that energy will disperse and the universe will eventually reach a state of equilibrium, known as the heat death of the universe. The speaker concludes by stating that choosing to do as little as possible contributes to postponing the heat death of the universe.
1. The dog that played Toto in "The Wizard of Oz" was credited as Toto, but in reality, the dog's name was Terry [Text].
2. Terry, the dog from "The Wizard of Oz," died in 1945 and was buried by her owner and trainer Carl Spitz on his ranch in Los Angeles [Text].
3. The Ventura Highway was constructed in 1958, disturbing Terry's remains and preventing her remains from being found [Text].
4. A memorial was erected in Hollywood's Forever Cemetery in Terry's honor in 1958 [Text].
5. The memorial is not a grave but a Cenotaph, an empty tomb [Text].
6. The speaker was reminded of Terry's Cenotaph when they saw the Cenotaph of Philopappos atop the Hill of the Muses in Athens [Text].
7. The speaker visited the Acropolis, a lion gate, and the earliest known analog computer in Greece [Text].
8. The speaker wondered how we will be remembered and what future archaeologists will find in the ruins of today's society [Text].
9. The speaker questioned whether we can prove that the universe wasn't created last Thursday [Text].
10. The speaker mentioned the concept of Last Thursday ISM, which is the belief that the universe was created last Thursday [Text].
11. The speaker discussed the concept of Occam's razor, a principle in philosophy that suggests the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is usually the correct one [Text].
12. The speaker shared the concept of Newton's flaming laser sword, a philosophical idea that if something cannot be settled by experiment, it is not worthy of debate [Text].
13. The speaker discussed the concept of entropy, often called disorder or chaos, and how it measures the level of energy spread out in a system [Text].
14. The speaker explained that the second law of thermodynamics states that energy disperse and the universe will eventually reach a state of thermodynamic equilibrium, also known as the heat death of the universe [Text].
15. The speaker joked that people who aren't very active are being considerate to the universe by limiting their contribution to the inevitable dispersal of energy [Text].