(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

     During Tuesday’s class, we explored a reading of the novel which hinges upon two different types of entropy, informational and thermodynamic. Pynchon explains these different entropies in terms of a theoretical machine proposed by the noted physicist James Clerk Maxwell. The machine consists of two chambers separated by a little door which is guarded by a tiny demon who sorts through all the molecules in the machine until one chamber is full of hot molecules and the other cold. In order to circumvent the laws of physics and obtain work without providing any,  one need only concentrate on a portrait of Maxwell and create a sort of informational circuit for massive quantities of information about the molecules which the demon sorts. As Nefastis points out, the machine "connects the world of thermodynamics to the world of information flow . . . the Demon makes the metaphor not only verbally graceful, but also objectively true"(85).

     According to the Second Law of thermodynamics, everything in the universe tends toward disorder. On a large scale over an unimaginably long period of time, this disorder could result in the the end of life or any meaningful reactions and processes in the Universe, thus Pynchon conclues that it is negative. Informational entropy on the other hand assumes that more disorganization equals a proliferation of sources, types of sources, and information gleaned from said sources, all of which he identifies as positive. More disorganization equals more information, and it is always good to be well-informed. Pynchon believed that informational entropy could fend off cultural entropy, by which he means the diffustion and resultant homogenization of, in the case, America. (for example, all cities have Wal-Mart's, same highway systems, same housing developements, etc. etc.,)

     The class also discussed the various different ways in which entropy manifests itself throughout the novel. Tristero, for example, can be seen as exemplifying informational entropy. By providing an alternate mail service, Tristero injects chaos into an otherwise uniform system. For Pynchon, these secret societies (Peter Penguid, The Suicides, In Amorati, Stanly Koteks, Dolphin Boy, Yoyodyne) and the informational entropy they exercise are a means of avoiding cultural heat death. There is also the Mexican anarchist, Jesús Arrabol, who describes a miracle as “another world’s intrusion into this one.” (Pynchon, 120) Even the novel itself acts as a force for informational entropy. Its convoluted narrative reveals little in terms of any standard plot resolution, and as long as determinant answers remain obscured, informational entropy prevails.

     We made a list of good and bad things about Tristero and tried to determine which side Tristero fit under. However, we agreed that our inability to pinpoint the moral status of the group was an example of indeterminacy, a type of informational entropy. We expanded this idea to the novel as a whole and decided that the indeterminacy of the end could be a positive thing; if Pyncheon never tells us the end, the possibilities are never limitied and instead we have a massive quantity of different information all of which could be equally valid. For Oedipa, every day acts like informational entropy because new hints and clues lead her to new possibilities; the only negative aspect of this is the excess of information that is unresolved for Oedipa. The choices Oedipa has were outlined as follows:

1) Hoax - Pierce hired everyone involved and created an elaborate hoax about the Tristero just for her.

2)Paranoia - she is paranoid that Pierce has created this hoax, and there is in fact no Tristero hoax

3) Real - the whole thing is real, no connection imagined or created, simply exists

4) Hallucination - she has created the whole thing, all the other options are not true

      We outlined a parallel set of options for Pierce:

1) harass an ex

2) discovered it for himself

3) hallucinated it for himself

4) had no idea, Tristero exists independently and undiscovered by Pierce

     Another point that we made was that Oedipa, and even we as readers, could be Maxwell's Demons, all sorting through the different information, seeking to unite disparate concepts in ways that are more than coincidental.

Passages

Pynchon, 149-150

How many shared Tristero’s secret, as well as its exile? What would the probate judge have to say about spreading some kind of a legacy among them all, all those nameless, maybe as a first installment? Oboy. He’d be on her ass in a microsecond, revoke her letters testamentary, they’d call her names, proclaim her through all Orange County as a redistributionist and pinko, slip the old man from Warpe, Wistfull, Kubitschek and McMingus in as administrator de bonis non, and so much baby for code, constellations, shadow-legatees. Who knew? Perhaps she’d be hounded someday as far as joining Tristero itself, if it existed, in its twilight, its aloofness, its waiting.  

In the above passage, Pynchon’s readers can see Tristero’s pervasive influence breeding paranoia within Oedipa’s mind. Troubled as she is by its seeming-omnipresence and teased into self-doubt by the surreptitious nature of the underground system, her obsession leads her to wonder if she might even be a potential recruit. She also considers the consequences that might arise as a result of participating in such a subversive organization.

Terms

Entropy: degree of disorder or randomness in a system

Thermodynamic entropy: Disorganization of molecules within a closed system, particularly concerned with relative temperatures of system parts; all parts of the system tend towards equivalency

Informational entropy: The idea that the more disorganized a system becomes, there greater the possibility for information. More disorganization equals more sources, more information, more possibility.

Tristero: this term stands to represent both good and bad within in this book.  It is good because it represents Informational Entropy and provides another source or choice for communication.  It also carries the negative connotations of the murder of Niccolo, the Wells Fargo incident, and possible illegality.  We must also consider McLuhan's opinion of the medium of writing and print, and how it is an engaging act and therefore positive (because of his electro-tribal phobia).

Links 

Pynchon's Entropy: This is a link to more information about Pynchon's theory of entropy and Maxwell's Demon.

Fiction in Forbes: This is a funny article from Forbes discussing the fictional company of Yoyodyne and other stories.

Postage :Here is a funny website that might be interesting concerning postage as a medium of expression, read the article, you'll get the idea 

Portrait of Pynchon: This is an interesting article from a Pynchon fan who describes what the modern day Pynchon looks like and more on the CNN story