Welcome to Issue 5 of SHAPE Journal.
The two of the three new papers included here are all continuations of strands commenced in previous issues. So we have developed our Blog to trail some intended future strands and keep you up to date on any other news. Each new issue of the Journal always generates new additions to the Bog, so it is worth a look.
The Blog is at
http://theelectronicjournal.blogspot.com

Currently, we intend to add various supplementary materials to the Blog to advertise future Intended publications. The next two issues will commence separate series on Cosmology and Natural Selection.

This issue contains a series on the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This is the law which says that all systems naturally fall apart, and all Order drives inexorably towards maximum chaos. There is even an “entity”, or perhaps more properly a “property”, termed Entropy, which is a supposed measure of just how for along this downwards path any system has currently reached. It is considered a “high level” law, applicable everywhere, and its ultimate result can only be the total rundown of the whole Universe, until the very last star is extinguished and all is both completely dark and absolutely silent...

It is, of course, absolute rubbish, to merely assert that is obviously not enough, and this short series takes the discussion much further along the road to its necessary debunking. It not only contrasts systems, such as Life, which since its Origin, almost 4 billion years ago on Planet Earth, on one could describe its trajectory as “all down hill”. It is quite obviously going in the exact opposite direction.

But, of course, we have to explain where such a pessimistic law originated from, and what made its discoverers” credit it with such universal relevance. It is, as you may have guessed, to do with Mankind’s position in this World, and his incessant efforts to control and divert aspects of Reality to his own intentions and consequent designs. All these aspects are addressed, not of course, to a totally final conclusion, but certainly sufficient to explain and demolish this pernicious myth.

Enjoy!

We will be regularly “trailing” future publications for this Journal on the Blog, as well as publishing both current news items, and papers which seem important enough to jump the queue and at least be flagged as “Coming Soon”, if not actually included there and then. A great deal more content has been made ready for the future Issues of the Journal, which if we continue our plan to bring out a new issue every three weeks, will keep us in “copy” until Early Spring 2012. And this is without counting any contributions from our readers!

Jim Schofield
NOVEMBER 2009