The Carnot Cycle of Building

Expansion, Compression, Repeat

I personally love the concept of using thermodynamics/entropy to govern the “effort” equation for any work

A very simple example of this is “Every element in a system creates loss, so the best way to minimize loss is to minimize the number of components in a system”. Andy Grove kinda talks about this in first part of his book “High Output Management”.

Anyways, despite getting a C in Physics 200, this is one of the tools I reach for the most, because I find it a very simple mental model to reason about.

Now why am I talking about this? Because, you can actually use this thermodynamic/entropy formula to reconcile the human creative process

Let me explain

There are two cycles to building:

1. Thinking (Expansion)

2. Building (Compression)

In Thinking, you’re collecting entropy. Think of it like a balloon filling with air. You’re gobbling up information, you’re connecting dots, you’re seeing the forrest through the trees.

In Building, you’re extracting entropy. You’re taking all you know to be true in the world and using it as a looking glass to reconcile your current state with your desired state

So I present to you, dear reader, something I believe to be empirically true:

It is impossible to think under compression, and it’s impossible to do under expansion

Not only do I believe the above to be true, but there is an inertia built into each of these directions.

In my mind, the most efficient way to balance this equation will always be to be discretely within phases of either Expansion/Thinking, or Compression/Doing. Doing both is a recipe for killing inertia and context thrashing.

The inertia of each phase is directly correspondent to the magnitude of the activity.

Formula for Entropic Expansion:

Space * time

Formula for Entropic Compression:

Work * time

Compression happens under the presence of doing, and expansion happens under the absence of doing. It’s why you’ll do your best work in “the zone” and your best thinking during a long walk/hot shower.

Much like the fabled “perfectly efficient” Carnot engine, in practice, there exists no “perfectly efficient” Carnot cycle for building. You simply have to work on optimizing the process as best you can.

Expand, Compress, Repeat. Breath in, Breath out, Repeat.

But what do I know, I’m not a physicist