For and Against Entropy

Thomas May’s blog, Memeteria, is definitely worth a visit (it’s where I found yesterday’s link to a George Walker review). Another post juxtaposes Ligeti’s Poème Symphonique for 100 metronomes - the piece constitutes a gradual descent into entropy - with a demonstration of what happens when multiple metronomes are on a flexible surface. The result is (to my non-physicist mind, at least) unexpected. Go to May’s post for an explanation; here are the two relevant videos: