SLSL quantum physics

[jbor]

on 11/2/03 9:15 PM, Terrance at lycidas2 at earthlink.net wrote:

> [Alan Brownlie]: "Pynchon himself claims, in the introduction to SL, that
> he has nothing
> more than a casual understanding of entropy, and goes some way to
> demonstrating this claim by using a definition of the term from the OED
> instead of a more arcane definition from a scientific text."

> But Moore, and 
> Ironically, Brownlie and K. Hume, expose Pynchon limited
> understanding of science. The same is true of much that Pynchon seems to
> know but doesn't--communication theory, philosophy (i.e.,
> Wittgenstein), conspiracy theory, communication theory, etc. and Co.
> ....

In the 'Intro' Pynchon cites the OED definition of "entropy" as a way of
leading into a commentary about what he did and does know, and about what
his interests were in using scientific tropes and themes in the story
'Entropy' (and subsequently):

    ... having been worked with in a restrained way for the next 70 or
    80 years, entropy got picked up on by some communication theorists
    and given the cosmic moral twist it continues to enjoy in current
    usage. ... (p.13)

It seems he's more interested in the *history* of science than he is in
science per se (though all the Pavlovian/poisson and benzene ring/coal tar
stuff in _GR_ demonstrates he's no slouch in the field of hard science
either), and then he goes on to talk about Norbert Wiener's books and Henry
Adams, and how their theories informed the composition of the story. (p.14)

best