---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You should call it entropy, for two…"
description: "\"You should call it entropy, for two reasons. In the first place your uncertainty function has been used in statistical mechanics under that name, so it..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/john-von-neumann-14513_first-place_you-should-call-it-entropy-for-two-reaso_1573511.jpg"
---

#  You should call it entropy, for two reasons. In the first…

![“You should call it entropy, for two reasons. In the first place your uncertainty function has been used in statistical mechanics under that name, so it already has a name. In the second place, and more important, no one really knows what entropy really is, so in a debate you will always have the…” quote by John Von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/john-von-neumann-14513_first-place_you-should-call-it-entropy-for-two-reaso_1573511.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/john-von-neumann-14513_first-place_you-should-call-it-entropy-for-two-reaso_1573511.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58a/john-von-neumann-14513_first-place_you-should-call-it-entropy-for-two-reaso_1573511.jpg)

> “You should call it entropy, for two reasons. In the first place your uncertainty function has been used in statistical mechanics under that name, so it already has a name. In the second place, and more important, no one really knows what entropy really is, so in a debate you will always have the advantage.”

[John Von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Entropy is a term borrowed from physics to describe uncertainty, and its vague definition gives speakers rhetorical leverage.

**In simple terms:** Entropy is uncertainty with a scientific name that sounds authoritative.

Key Takeaway

Use precise definitions to avoid exploiting ambiguity.

Themes

communication rhetoric science uncertainty

Mood

analytical critical

Type

educational philosophical

When to use this quote

- debates
- academic presentations
- technical writing

Key Concepts

information theory statistical mechanics argumentation

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you clarify ambiguous terms in discussion?
- When is it ethical to use jargon for advantage?

A Different Perspective

Relying on vague concepts can mislead audiences.

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[Entropy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entropy/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Second place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-place/)

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> [Use "entropy" and you can never lose a debate, von Neumann told Shannon - because no one really knows what "entropy" is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-poundstone/use-entropy-and-you-can-never-lose-a-debate-von-neumann-told-shannon/)

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> [The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-increase-of-disorder-or-entropy-is-what-distinguishes-the-past/)

[Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/)

> [You know, entropy is associated thermodynamically, in systems involving heat, with disorder. And in an analogous way, information is associated with disorder, which seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/you-know-entropy-is-associated-thermodynamically-in-systems-involving/)

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> [What's important is how we use our time on this earth, not how conspicuously we give our money away. What's important is the energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pallotta/what-s-important-is-how-we-use-our-time-on-this-earth-not-how/)

[Dan Pallotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pallotta/)

> [“What I have said about the newspapers and the movies applies equally to the radio, to television, and even to bookselling. Thus we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-wiener/what-i-have-said-about-the-newspapers-and-the-movies-applies-equally/)

[Norbert Wiener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-wiener/)

> [“Entropy The Disintegrating Integration of Cheez-Whiz Squirts Insipid Inspiration Quoth the Oblong Eclipse of Nether-Knowledge Never Knowing Decaying Matter in a Decaying Orbit Orangutans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ubiquitous-bubba/entropy-the-disintegrating-integration-of-cheez-whiz-squirts-insipid/)

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> [We could not, for example, arrive at a principle like that of entropy without introducing some additional principle, such as randomness, to this topography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/we-could-not-for-example-arrive-at-a-principle-like-that-of-entropy/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [Systems program building is an entropy-decreasing process, hence inherently metastable. Program maintenance is an entropy-increasing process, and even its most skillful execution only delays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/systems-program-building-is-an-entropy-decreasing-process-hence/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Entropy is the normal state of consciousness—a condition that is neither useful nor enjoyable. To avoid this condition, people are naturally eager to fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/entropy-is-the-normal-state-of-consciousness-a-condition-that-is/)

[Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/)

> [Forgotten thought is the ultimate entropy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-lintern/forgotten-thought-is-the-ultimate-entropy/)

Neil Lintern

## More by John Von Neumann

> [Truth is much too complicated to allow anything but approximations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/truth-is-much-too-complicated-to-allow-anything-but-approximations/)

[John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/)

> [Problems are often stated in vague terms... because it is quite uncertain what the problems really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/problems-are-often-stated-in-vague-terms-because-it-is-quite/)

[John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/)

> [It would appear that we have reached the limits of what it is possible to achieve with computer technology, although one should be careful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/it-would-appear-that-we-have-reached-the-limits-of-what-it-is/)

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> [I would like to make a confession which may seem immoral: I do not believe in Hilbert space anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/i-would-like-to-make-a-confession-which-may-seem-immoral-i-do-not/)

[John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/)

> [There is no point in being precise if you do not even know what you are talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/there-is-no-point-in-being-precise-if-you-do-not-even-know-what-you/)

[John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/)

> [The emphasis on mathematical methods seems to be shifted more towards combinatorics and set theory - and away from the algorithm of differential equations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/the-emphasis-on-mathematical-methods-seems-to-be-shifted-more-towards/)

[John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/)

> [If you tell me precisely what it is a machine cannot do, then I can always make a machine which will do just that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/if-you-tell-me-precisely-what-it-is-a-machine-cannot-do-then-i-can/)

[John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/)

> [The calculus was the first achievement of modern mathematics and it is difficult to overestimate its importance. I think it defines more unequivocally than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/the-calculus-was-the-first-achievement-of-modern-mathematics-and-it/)

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> [If one has really technically penetrated a subject, things that previously seemed in complete contrast, might be purely mathematical transformations of each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/if-one-has-really-technically-penetrated-a-subject-things-that/)

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[Explore all 45 John Von Neumann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/)

## More Entropy quotes

> [Forgotten thought is the ultimate entropy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-lintern/forgotten-thought-is-the-ultimate-entropy/)

Neil Lintern

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> [Systems program building is an entropy-decreasing process, hence inherently metastable. Program maintenance is an entropy-increasing process, and even its most skillful execution only delays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/systems-program-building-is-an-entropy-decreasing-process-hence/)

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> [You know, entropy is associated thermodynamically, in systems involving heat, with disorder. And in an analogous way, information is associated with disorder, which seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/you-know-entropy-is-associated-thermodynamically-in-systems-involving/)

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> [The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-increase-of-disorder-or-entropy-is-what-distinguishes-the-past/)

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> [“It is very desirable to have a word to express the Availability for work of the heat in a given magazine; a term for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-guthrie-tait/it-is-very-desirable-to-have-a-word-to-express-the-availability-for/)

Peter Guthrie Tait

> [“One thing seems certain. Our galaxy is now in the brief springtime of its life—a springtime made glorious by such brilliant blue-white stars as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/one-thing-seems-certain-our-galaxy-is-now-in-the-brief-springtime-of/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [Entropy theory, on the other hand, is not concerned with the probability of succession in a series of items but with the overall distribution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/entropy-theory-on-the-other-hand-is-not-concerned-with-the/)

[Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/)

> [“Another way to describe the Second Law is in terms of entropy, the degree of disorder and randomness in a system. Any spontaneous process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/another-way-to-describe-the-second-law-is-in-terms-of-entropy-the/)

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> [The general struggle for existence of animate beings is not a struggle for raw materials, these for organisms are air water & soil, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-boltzmann/the-general-struggle-for-existence-of-animate-beings-is-not-a/)

[Ludwig Boltzmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-boltzmann/)

> [I think you should always bear in mind that entropy is not on your side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/i-think-you-should-always-bear-in-mind-that-entropy-is-not-on-your/)

[Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/)

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