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THE ANIMATE AND THEINANIMATE

William James Sidis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface Click chapter numbers to open.

I The Reverse Universe

II Reversible Laws

III Irreversibility

IV The Paradox

V The Probabilities in the Problem

VI Solution of the Paradox

VII Theories of Life

VIII The Extension of the Second Law

IX The Relation Between the Tendencies

X Exothermic and Endothermic Substances

XI Theories of the Origin of Life

XII The Astronomical Universe

XIII The Nebular Hypothesis

XIV The Reversibility Theory of Cosmogony

XV The Pseudo-Living Organisms

XVI Psychological Aspect of Reversal

XVII General Summary of the Theory

XVIII Some Objections to the Reversibility Theory

XIX Conclusion

AN INDEX FOR THE ANIMATE AND THE INANIMATEText entry by Dan Mahony, Nick Duvoisin, Jason Stanfield and Frankie Dintino

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"Our previous consideration on the production of radiant energy from thestars indicates that such production of radiant energy is only possible wherethe second law of thermodynamics is followed, that is, in a positive section ofthe universe. In a negative section of the universe the reverse process musttake place; namely, space is full of radiant energy, presumably produced in

the positive section of space, and the stars use this radiant energy to build upa higher level of heat. All radiant energy in that section of space would tendto be absorbed by the stars, which would thus constitute perfectly blackbodies; and very little radiant energy would be produced in that section ofspace, but would mostly come from beyond the boundary surface. What littleradiant energy would be produced in the negative section of space would bepseudo-teleologically directed only towards stars which have enough activityto absorb it, and no radiant energy, or almost none, would actually leave thenegative section of space. The peculiarity of the boundary surface betweenthe positive and negative sections of space, then, is, that practically all lightthat crosses it, crosses it in one direction, namely, from the positive side to

the negative side. If we were on the positive side, as seems to be the case,then we could not see beyond such surface, though we might easily havegravitational or other evidence of bodies existing beyond thatsurface."CHAP XII

Seeing the invisible first dark galaxy discovered?

"A British-led team of astronomers have discovered an object that appears tobe an invisible galaxy made almost entirely of dark matter the first everdetected. A dark galaxy is an area in the universe containing a large amountof mass that rotates like a galaxy, but contains no stars. Without any stars togive light, it could only be found using radio telescopes. It was first seen with

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the University of Manchesters Lovell Telescope in Cheshire, and the sightingwas confirmed with the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico. The unknownmaterial that is thought to hold these galaxies together is known as darkmatter, but scientists still know very little about what that is."physorg.com

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Courtesy jaydillon.com

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ONLINE CATALOG

Library of Congress

101 Independence Ave., SE

Washington, DC 20540

LC Control Number: 25024679

Type of Material: Book (Print, Microform, Electronic, etc.)

Personal Name: Sidis, William James. [from old catalog]

Main Title: The animate and the inanimate

Published/Created: Boston, R. G. Badger [c1925]

Description: p. cm.

Subjects: Science--Philosophy. [from old catalog]

Cosmogony. [from old catalog]

LC Classification: Q175 .S55

CALL NUMBER: Q175 .S55

Copy 1

-- Request in: Jefferson or Adams Bldg General or Area Studies Reading

Rms

-- Status: Not Charged

CALL NUMBER: Q175 .S55

Copy 2

-- Request in: Jefferson or Adams Bldg General or Area Studies Reading

Rms

-- Status: Not Charged

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From: jaydillon.comDate sent: Thu, 6 May 2004 12:28:23 EDTSubject: Sidis ANIMATE

The National Union Catalog recorded a copy at Michigan; but it islong gone. A copy formerly at Brandeis is also gone. Ditto the copyyou photocopied in 1977 at NYU. I found one more today: CaliforniaState Library (Sacramento). So now I know about eight copies in eightlibraries:

California State LibraryCurry College (Milton, MA)HarvardLibrary of Congress (1)Oregon State UnivPrinceton UnivUniv of Texas (Arlington)

Washington Univ

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The Animate and the Inanimate

William James Sidis

PREFACE

This work sets forth a theory which is speculative in nature,

there being no verifying experiments. It is based on the idea of

the reversibility of everything in time; that is, that every type of

process has its time-image, a corresponding process which is itsexact reverse with respect to time. This accounts for all physical

laws but one, namely, the second law of thermodynamics. This

law has been found in the nineteenth century to be a source of a

great deal of difficulty. The eminent physicist, Clerk-Maxwell,

in the middle of the nineteenth century, while giving a proof of

that law, admitted that reversals are possible by imagining a

"sorting demon" who could sort out the smaller particles, and

separate the slower ones from the faster ones. This second law

of thermodynamics brought in the idea of energy-level, of

unavailable energy (or "entropy" as it was called by Clausius)

which was constantly increasing.

In the theory herein set forth, we suppose that reversals of

the second law are a regular phenomenon, and identify them

with what is generally known as life. This changes the idea ofunavailable energy into that of a reserve fund of energy, used

only by life, and created by non-living forces.

This is in accordance with some recent discoveries. The

late Prof. William James has discovered in the domain of mental

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phenomena what he calls "reserve energy," which later

investigation has shown to be present to a more limited extent in

all biological phenomena. It remained a mystery, however,

where this energy came from, and the theory of reserve energyas set forth in this work suggests a possible explanation of these

phenomena.

In relation to the universe as a whole, the theory herein set

forth represents the idea of what is known as cyclical change.

This idea is a very old one, being found among the philosophers

of the Ionian school, and reappearing at later periods from time

to time. On the other hand, the generall