Why? Because...

Why do things happen? You remember how this goes. You ask why and I give a reason. And then you ask why and I give a reason. And then you ask why and I give a reason. Repeat until one of us gives up. It could only end with an answer something like because that's the way things work. That answer is usually one of the Laws of Thermodynamics. There are three laws, or four if you count the zeroth law, or five or six if you pay attention to the latest buzz. Somebody who knows thermodynamics might continue the game another step or two. Not me. That's where I get a snack and take a nap.

So, why do things happen? Fast-forward to the endgame: things happen to maximize entropy production. The scientists shorten that to MEP because they wrote a book and this came up a lot. I took a peek into the book. It did a MEP on my head, so I made a cheese sandwich and went to sleep. When I woke up, I decided I couldn't, in good conscience, write a blog about MEP because it would be MUD (Making Us Drowsy), which comes up a lot these days.

Instead I will write about the MESS (Mid-Entropic Stable States) stopping things from happening. I am hoping to make MEP more comprehensible by MESSing with the basic idea. Also I'm having fun with words, so don't take it too seriously. 

We could clarify this message by standing the question on its head:
why don't things happen? 
Sometimes things are just fine the way they are  because they are close to maximum entropy; but not everything that can happen will happen on its own  because things get stuck in a mid-entropy stable state.
Why?
It's like a sled stuck in the snow at the top of a hill; you'll have to give it a push to get it going, but maybe you can't.
Why?
Because pushing means using energy, which you may not have.
Why?
Because you need a snack, maybe peanut butter with cherry jam, but that's another story.
Why?
Because having more energy means you are able to push; then as your sled slides downhill, its energy is converted into a variety of different forms, like the increased random motions of  molecules in the snow which is heat, and that's the way things like it.
Why?
Because when all the energy has been distributed as heat scattered among snow crystals, there is no place for it to go.
Why?
Because it's near maximum entropy and it can't get any better.
Why?
Because that's the way things work. 

Or something like that. 

Why write about this stuff?
Because the MESS is important. We spend our brief time on earth, before achieving maximum entropy, constantly reorganizing the MESS. That's life.

Why is there no math in this message? You promised math.
Because I am avoiding MUD. Math next time maybe. Baby steps.