Bloom takes us on a grand journey from the emergence of the first bacteria, flowers, humanity, and all the way to stars and galaxies. Bloom shows how the forces that drive the universe and history connect you and me in what may be his wildest theory yet.
Right away, Bloom tackles key concepts taken as self-evident in the science world: the Second Law of Thermodynamics and entropy. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that entropy indefinitely increases in the universe. Entropy is the level of chaos within any system and a tendency toward said chaos. A famous experiment demonstrated entropy. A sugar cube was dropped into a glass of water and it unsurprisingly dissolved, supposedly proving that the cosmos is entropic. Clearly existence is unpredictable, but Bloom finds the idea of an entropic dubious in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Bloom believes there is a pervasive view in our culture that nature was a pristine paradise before humanity destroyed it. This view additionally portrays life as frugal and efficient. Bloom makes the case that life has been an unstable, chaotic proposition from day one and that greed, consumerism, capitalism, vanity, and waste aren’t evil, but catalysts for diversity.