---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Entropy theory is indeed a first attempt…"
description: "\"“Entropy theory is indeed a first attempt to deal with global form; but it has not been dealing with structure. All it says is that a large sum of elem..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/rudolf-arnheim-10963_quote_entropy-theory-is-indeed-a-first-attempt_1191820.jpg"
---

#  Entropy theory is indeed a first attempt to deal with…

![“Entropy theory is indeed a first attempt to deal with global form; but it has not been dealing with structure. All it says is that a large sum of elements may have properties not found in a smaller sample of them. Entropy theory, on the other hand, is not concerned with the probability of…” quote by Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/rudolf-arnheim-10963_quote_entropy-theory-is-indeed-a-first-attempt_1191820.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/rudolf-arnheim-10963_quote_entropy-theory-is-indeed-a-first-attempt_1191820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/rudolf-arnheim-10963_quote_entropy-theory-is-indeed-a-first-attempt_1191820.jpg)

> ““Entropy theory is indeed a first attempt to deal with global form; but it has not been dealing with structure. All it says is that a large sum of elements may have properties not found in a smaller sample of them. Entropy theory, on the other hand, is not concerned with the probability of succession in a series of items but with the overall distribution of kinds of items in a given arrangement.””

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

## About This Quote

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

Entropy describes overall distribution of elements, not the internal structure of arrangements.

**In simple terms:** Entropy deals with overall patterns, not detailed structure.

Key Takeaway

Consider both distribution and structure in analysis.

Themes

art perception complexity systems

Mood

analytical curious critical

Type

theoretical explanatory

When to use this quote

- design critique
- data analysis
- visual composition
- system architecture

Key Concepts

information theory holism pattern recognition

Questions to Reflect On

- How does focusing only on distribution limit understanding?
- What structures are missed when ignoring internal relationships?

A Different Perspective

Entropy ignores how parts interact to create meaning.

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[Entropy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entropy/) [Entropy Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entropy-theory-1540488/) [Sample Entropy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sample-entropy-3538663/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Theory Attempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory-attempt-1415916/)

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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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> [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/)

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> [“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/)

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> [“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/)

[Ubiquitous Bubba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ubiquitous-bubba/)

> [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/)

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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/)

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

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

[Neil Lintern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-lintern/)

## More by Rudolf Arnheim

> [Order is a prerequisite of survival; therefore the impulse to produce orderly arrangements is inbred by evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/order-is-a-prerequisite-of-survival-therefore-the-impulse-to-produce/)

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> [Seeing consists of the grasping of structural features rather than the indiscriminate recording of detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/seeing-consists-of-the-grasping-of-structural-features-rather-than/)

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> [Order is a necessary condition for anything the human mind is to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/order-is-a-necessary-condition-for-anything-the-human-mind-is-to/)

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

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> [“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/)

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> [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/)

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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/)

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