In this article we will present a small, on the one hand humorous, but on the other hand completely scientific theory with the help of which you can justify yourself in those moments when laziness has got the upper hand over you.
The fact is that in physics there is such a thermodynamic quantity as entropy. Its scientific meaning determines the measure of irreversible dissipation of energy. In other cases it can also determine the probability of realization of any macroscopic state. However, let us say, “in everyday life” it is easier to understand the meaning of entropy as a measure of disorderliness of a system: the less elements of a system are subordinated to any order, the higher entropy is.
Here let us make a small clarifying remark about what order is. This is very important, because a situation where something is evenly distributed over the available space can be called disorder or chaos (if, for example, we are talking about garbage evenly thrown on the floor of a room). But this situation can also be called order (if we are talking, for example, a quality and evenly painted wall), then who knows what, and who has what associations …
However we will agree for the needs of this article that, like all physicists and other scientists, we will understand under order the presence of some pronounced structure in a system (for example, the existence of specific objects in certain points of space), and under disorder the uniform distribution of all kinds of matter in space. Entropy, then, is a measure of disorder.
At this point, the universe is in relative order. We have many cosmic bodies, each of which has its own shape, size and properties, all of which are located in certain places. Thus, there is a certain structure in our system.
But, unfortunately, it is unequivocally proved by science that entropy in closed thermodynamic systems can only increase or remain unchanged. Thus, any system tends toward disorder, i.e., toward the uniform distribution of all available matter over the available space. This statement may be locally violated, i.e., in some regions of space, some of the elements that make up the system may also aspire to order, but the entire closed system as a whole, always aspires only to disorder or maintains the level of disorder it has achieved. In other words, if somewhere it becomes a little more orderly, then elsewhere it becomes even more disorderly.
So if we apply the law of non-decreasing entropy (disorder) to the Universe as a whole, then it turns out that one day all matter must be evenly distributed throughout the Universe. There will be no isolated objects, such as stars or planets. All space will be absolutely uniformly filled with homogeneous mush of different particles. And entropy (or disorder) will reach its final maximum.
Such a state is called the Thermal Death of the Universe. There are different estimates as to when it should happen. In any case, it is one of the most distant end-of-the-world scenarios. If in the end the Universe will come to exactly this state, it will happen in very, very many billions of years.
Another important feature of entropy is that it only increases if something happens, and vice versa, if something happens, entropy necessarily increases. And if nothing happens, entropy at least stays the same.
But since any increase in entropy, i.e. disorder, brings us closer to the Thermal Death of the Universe, it appears that while nothing happens, this end, at least, is not approaching. But as soon as certain events start happening, the Universe’s Thermal Death is sure to come closer to us in time.
A person, of course, cannot do absolutely nothing, he must at least breathe, his heart beats, other processes in the body take place. However, if a person just lies on the couch, entropy increases much slower than if a person takes up active work. This means that the Thermal Death of the Universe in the case of a person idling is approaching slower than in the case of a person working.
This effect is of course very weak, numerical estimates are again very difficult, but in any case the contribution of one man and his way of life to the time of the Thermal Death of the Universe is counted in the smallest fractions of a second. Considering that this event itself is billions of years distant from us, it turns out that the relative influence of each person on this process is quite negligible. Nevertheless, strictly speaking, from the point of view of science, this effect is still present. Therefore, you can justify your laziness scientifically by the fact that you are trying to delay the moment of the Thermal Death of the Universe as much as possible.