If nature itself dictates that everything will eventually result in total chaos, why bother trying to prevent this in the first place.

We know that energy can not be lost. But we also know that everything in nature has the tendency to aim for the lowest state of energy possible. Typically this state is equal to total equilibrium, in any form what so ever applicable to the subject we are looking at.

Derived from this, equilibrium can only be reached in a closed (or well defined) system. This would dictate that we have full control over all things influencing our subject. If we do not or can not control everything influencing our subject, equilibrium can also be referred to as ultimate chaos. The tendency to reach equilibrium is also described as the entropy of a system. The higher the entropy, the more the system is in chaos.

One definition of entropy reads: the measure of a system’s thermal energy per unit temperature that is unavailable for doing useful work. Because work is obtained from ordered molecular motion, the amount of entropy is also a measure of the molecular disorder, or randomness, of a system. The concept of entropy provides deep insight into the direction of spontaneous change for many everyday phenomena. Its introduction by the German physicist Rudolf Clausius in 1850 is a highlight of 19th-century physics.

Now, us being people, we will try to get the entropy of any system we (think we) control to be as low as possible. If we believe we are no longer in full control we will just put in extra measures to try to control the system again. Up till a certain extend we might be able to do so but in most cases it is just a matter of time before things start breaking down.

On this topic we will look at how this theory applies to information technology. Specifically the process of business continuity and crisis management. These IT (or better said, business) processes try to cope with unintentional disruptions of IT/business operations by putting plans in place to deal with yet unknown events.

By the very nature of the fact that not all vectors influencing these processes can be controlled (the system is not completely closed), trying to do so will never lead to complete control. Or better said, also these processes will tend to result in total chaos. We can only put in a lot of effort trying to keep the systems entropy as low as possible.

And as soon as we let down our guards, because we think everything is fine, things will start to fall apart and previously build plans will be rendered useless.

So, keep updated and feel free to comment on this.

Now that about everything we used to be able to touch has gone virtual, what will be the next thing to disappear in thin air?

People in the Cloud, the next step in resource management?

Another great effect of the Social Age.