# When something starts of simple and then becomes more complex or chaotic with the passage of time, it's called **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 29, 2021, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959 "2021-03-29T11:03:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/1 "2021-03-29T11:03:59Z")
Guys, please help me id this word. It’s driving me crazy. Thread title is about the only clue I can give you. People will often use this word when they’re trying to sound smart as in: "We live in a \_\_\_\_ universe’ Thanks ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/2 "2021-03-29T11:25:20Z")
I’ve seen folks use “stochastic” for that. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/3 "2021-03-29T11:47:00Z")
Thanks for your input. That’s not it. It’s a more commonly used word. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/4 "2021-03-29T11:51:23Z")
" ramifying" = “to spread or branch out; grow and develop in complexity or range.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/5 "2021-03-29T11:53:44Z")
Degenerate ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/6 "2021-03-29T11:58:50Z")
It’s more like a word you would hear one of the TV science guys use. I want to say it starts with an e but I’m not sure. I’ll know it if I read it though. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/7 "2021-03-29T12:01:31Z")
Something to do with “entropy”? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/8 "2021-03-29T12:02:30Z")
Yes! That’s it! Thank you so much. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/9 "2021-03-29T12:34:57Z")
Yup, “entropy” is the answer to the question posed in the thread title. The blank in the OP can be filled with “entropic”, though I’d say that is much less commonly used, probably because it’s not usually phrased that way (IMHO). ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/10 "2021-03-29T12:43:21Z")
But entropy means things become _less_ complex. Classically, a system in thermodynamic equilibrium (i.e., at maximum entropy) means that the temperature has become the same, everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/11 "2021-03-29T12:46:55Z")
Entropy isn’t what it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/12 "2021-03-29T12:47:09Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > But entropy means things become _less_ complex Entropy also means that things become less orderly, hence more chaotic. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/13 "2021-03-29T13:03:01Z")
Be that as it may, I have never heard anyone say “We live in a[n] entropy [entropic?] universe.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/14 "2021-03-29T13:04:16Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > "We live in a \_\_\_\_ universe’ > [@Grrr](#): > > I want to say it starts with an e but I’m not sure. How about “expanding”? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/15 "2021-03-29T13:12:39Z")
“Government” 😈 ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/16 "2021-03-29T13:13:20Z")
Well, my vague recollection, it was Brian Green or NDT used entropic to explain the expending universe on one of his shows. So maybe not so common but that’s what I associate it with. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/17 "2021-03-29T13:19:15Z")
I have to say that “complex” and “chaotic” don’t belong together in physics. Simple to complex would be “evolving”, which is certainly different from “entropic”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/18 "2021-03-29T15:35:43Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > … the expending universe … How do you stop an expending Universe? Take away it’s credit cards! 😉 I slay me. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/19 "2021-03-29T15:38:45Z")
My tile job in front of our new gas fireplace has gone south with every attempt. I’m calling it a clusterfuck. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-something-starts-of-simple-and-then-becomes-more-complex-or-chaotic-with-the-passage-of-time-its-called/938959/20 "2021-03-29T16:10:42Z")
Is OP referencing the fact that the universe started as energy, turned into into chemistry, then turned into biology, then turned into technological civilization, each one more complex than the last? If so, entropic would mean the opposite.