Particles of Thought Bob & Mike's Big Idea: A New Law of Nature
Sep 23, 2025
Join mineralogist Robert (Bob) Hazen and astrobiologist Mike Wong as they propose a groundbreaking Law of Increasing Functional Information. They dive into how complexity emerges in life and the universe, discussing the differences between scientific laws and theories. The duo explains the critical role of context and selection in evolving systems, illustrating their ideas with real-world examples from minerals to AI innovation. Their insights challenge traditional views and open new avenues for understanding complexity, life, and even cooking!
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
A New Bounded Natural Law
- Bob Hazen and Mike Wong propose a new bounded natural law: the Law of Increasing Functional Information.
- It asserts that systems with many components, configuration mechanisms, and selection for function increase functional information over time.
Two Arrows Of Time
- The second law of thermodynamics gives one arrow of time via entropy increase, but doesn't explain local rises in complexity.
- Hazen and Wong argue a second arrow exists: selection-driven increases in functional information.
Functional Information As A Metric
- Functional information is a measurable metric analogous to mass or entropy but context-dependent on a chosen function.
- It rises in systems that meet three criteria: many components, mechanisms to generate configurations, and selection for function.
