Maxwell's Demon
In chapter four, Stanley Koteks explains a fictional physics concept to Oedipa with enough detail to make it seem important. Maxwell's Demon is a small creature that would be able to facilitate faster moving particles separating from slower ones, which would create an area with a high density of energetic particles (higher temperature). The decrease in entropy of the system would not be accompanied by any increase in entropy which violates the second law of thermodynamics.
Even though the events of the story appear random, the "entropy" of what she observes and experiences is very low. All her discoveries of the horn logo, WASTE, bones, Tristero, etc. feel coincidental enough that I wouldn't be surprised if an energy demon were shunting all the evidence Oedipa needs to investigate the mail companies. Pynchon himself could be the demon because he controls what befalls Oedipa without any cost, creating potential from nothing to drive the progression of the plot. Is this a satire of how authors defy logic and limit/empower their characters to reach the end the author wants?
Oedipa questions Stanley and asks if the act of sorting the particles counts as an input of work in which case no laws of physics would be violated. She may have been on the right track because other physicists argued that the demon would have to measure particle speeds in order to sort them which requires work (https://www.britannica.com/science/Maxwells-demon). If John Nefastis has a real-life Maxwell's Demon, has he transcended science or is he just pulling strings the characters can't see?
Even though the events of the story appear random, the "entropy" of what she observes and experiences is very low. All her discoveries of the horn logo, WASTE, bones, Tristero, etc. feel coincidental enough that I wouldn't be surprised if an energy demon were shunting all the evidence Oedipa needs to investigate the mail companies. Pynchon himself could be the demon because he controls what befalls Oedipa without any cost, creating potential from nothing to drive the progression of the plot. Is this a satire of how authors defy logic and limit/empower their characters to reach the end the author wants?
Oedipa questions Stanley and asks if the act of sorting the particles counts as an input of work in which case no laws of physics would be violated. She may have been on the right track because other physicists argued that the demon would have to measure particle speeds in order to sort them which requires work (https://www.britannica.com/science/Maxwells-demon). If John Nefastis has a real-life Maxwell's Demon, has he transcended science or is he just pulling strings the characters can't see?
Not going to lie, this kind of blew my mind. Despite Oedipa being identified as not "sensitive", the plot of the book definitely revolves directly around her, so it seems that she has some influence on the world around her. Also, I found it interesting that when she learned very few people had the ability to use Maxwell's Demon, she immediately asked if she could try it. What makes her believe that she is so special? Or is she trying to find something special about her otherwise mundane life?
ReplyDeleteInteresting take. I never thought of Pynchon as the demon.
ReplyDeleteI think in some sense, Oedipa is also a Demon. The Demon is supposed to be something that sorts information and relays that information for other people, such as a 'sensitive'. If you look at what Oedipa does throughout the story, it's pretty much just sorting through clues about W.A.S.T.E and the Tristero, and then organizing and retelling her theories to other people. I feel like Oedipa's the one who ties the mystery together, and without her, no one else would ever bother to look for the Tristero.
ReplyDeleteI like your take on the Maxwell Demon, but I also like the idea that nobody really is an insightful. After, the person who owned the device afterwards propositioned her for sex, which was very creepy. The idea that we can break or bend reality into something more interesting is perhaps something that is at the heart of this novel, as the narrator tries to unpack whether Trystero has any real meaning.
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