Social Phenomena Overlaying Thermodynamics (1)

I entered university in 1968. At that time, I spent two years in the liberal arts department taking classes across various fields. It was in a physics class that I first encountered thermodynamics. Although I found it difficult to understand, mysteriously, I continued to hold an interest in it. Now, I've come to intuitively sense that various social phenomena overlap with thermodynamics. I revisited thermodynamics and attempted to overlay it with social phenomena, feeling a strong sense of alignment. If I could explain this alignment effectively, it seems many people might have a moment of realization, thinking, "Ah, that makes sense."

Human desires can be equated to energy. Money represents the traces of desire energy. Since desires are alive, they fade and disappear. However, when converted into numbers stored in a bank, they continue to live without degradation. The electronic records on a bank's magnetic tape do not deteriorate, so the energy is transferred, changes form, and is preserved. When exploring these changes, as well as their quality, quantity, and direction, thermodynamics can aid in understanding.

Therefore, by overlaying human activities with thermodynamics, I wanted to explore how it looks and attempt to explain it in a way that the general public can understand. I hypothesized that human desires and vitality could be considered as physical thermal energy that generates social phenomena.

To provide a clear example, let's consider Japan's GDP, which has not grown in 30 years. The data is clear, and everyone sees this as a problem.
GDP is defined as the total value of goods and services produced within a country. Japan's GDP is generated by the vitality of the people living there (an invisible truth).
If GDP does not increase, it means that the total sum of vitality does not increase. When production grows and is consumed, there is a balance, and the movement (consumption) of vitality's energy continues. This can also be interpreted as the conservation of energy persisting.
However, if what is produced ends up in inventory or as "under-the-mattress" savings, the energy of that production does not return to society. It disappears.
When it disappears, it means the energy is not utilized. It's as if it has vanished into the far reaches of the universe.

To increase consumption, money (energy) may be distributed, but there's no guarantee this money will be directed towards consumption. Money not spent doesn't return, vanishing as energy into darkness. According to the laws of thermodynamics, heat transferred from hot water to cold doesn't revert back, though thermal energy is conserved. Conversely, the energy of money or desire disappears.
Overlaying this with the principles of thermodynamics, which describe the movement of heat, can help understand phenomena such as stagnant GDP growth or declining birth rates.
I'd like to explain this by simplifying and applying thermodynamic principles to make it more understandable.

In 1968, I graduated from Yoichi High School and went on to study in the Electrical Engineering department at Tohoku University.
At that time, I was taught thermodynamics during my first year in the liberal arts department. It was complex. Surely, it seemed complex because I didn't understand its essence. I felt like I understood it after reading the textbook multiple times. However, that was just getting used to the descriptions and memorizing them, not truly understanding.

That left me feeling unsettled and frustrated. It became clear to me later that most students just moved past without truly understanding it. However, I also learned that this is quite normal. Even for a specialized professor, it might take as long as 20 years to feel a sense of understanding and relief, although the degree of satisfaction may vary. My satisfaction hasn't fully arrived yet, but I can't help but think that thermodynamics somehow explains various social phenomena.

Thus, I tried to overlay thermodynamics onto the events happening around me for a qualitative understanding. Surprisingly, the expressions of thermodynamics seemed to explain social phenomena well. Feeling that a phenomenon is well-explained signifies a successful explanation. Descriptions using textbook formulas often fail to facilitate a true understanding of the essence.
So, I endeavored to find a way to make it understandable intuitively.

For that reason, I found myself revisiting and revising the explanation process multiple times. Initially, I attempted to explain thermodynamics for understanding before moving on to describe the phenomena. However, this led to the conclusion that without understanding thermodynamics, it was impossible to explain the phenomena. It became clear that starting with an explanation of thermodynamics was not feasible.

So, I finally found a method that could potentially make the essence of thermodynamics understandable to even middle school students, without them realizing how they came to grasp it over time. Once I understood this, I felt that applying this approach to explaining thermodynamics would make it suddenly clear. The sequence was completely reversed, placing the understanding of thermodynamics at the end of the explanation. By that time, the essence should already be understood, leading to an expectation that one would feel they have grasped thermodynamics.

The understanding of thermodynamics ended up being the final destination.Before exploring thermodynamics, it became necessary to introduce the idea that "if the essence is presented as truth and its expression is described, then that becomes understanding."

[ Author : Y. F. ]