Television and Boltzmann's Constant

In its most simle, layman's terms definition, the Boltzmann Constant states that over a period of time any system will eventually break down due to entropy. Boltzmann believed(and proved) that any system, no matter what the context was, would eventually succumb to entropy and chaos given enough time. Because I am not a math/science person and have little to no knowledge of the thermodynamics and other empirically objective systems Boltzmann was originally talking about, but instead apply the constant to something more relatable: television.
Whether it be casting changes, network budget cuts, a change in scriptwriters, or simply running out of ideas,
television shows that are on long enough will eventually get worse, no matter how good or long their "golden years" were. Shows will often turn to gimmicks to keep the writing fresh, as was the case with "Cousin Oliver" in The Brady Bunch, or the phrase-coining jumping-of-the-shark in Happy Day's twilight season.

Perhaps the most famous and documented example in scripted television available to us is Matt Groening's The Simpsons. First broadcast in 1989, the rise and fall of The Simpsons proves to be a textbook example of Boltzman's constant. 

Other shows simply crash and burn as they struggle to keep viewer engaged and stretch their believability and relatability further and further. For example, the penultimate season of My Name is Earl was revealed to all be a dream, a trope surprisingly common in television(here's looking at you, Dallas)




Is there a way to truly escape the Boltzmann Constant? The phrase "if you love something, let it go" comes to mind. Critically-lauded but underwatched shows(read: Firefly) seem to live on as martyrs, gaining notoriety and respect with each passing year, despite being virtually unknown in their televised run. However, this isn't a bad thing: bringing back brilliant shows cancelled at the top of their game simply means the entropy described in the Boltzmann constant is resumed. Ask any Arrested Development or Futurama fan how the post-cancellation revival episodes compare to the original ones. Joss Whedon isn't a flawless director, he simply quits(or is cancelled) while he's ahead.

Eaton Canyon Community Analyses

Community Analysis(click the tabs at the bottom of the page to access the different communities and graphs)

Eaton Canyon observed Plants

Cabrillo Beach Diversity

Intertidal Zone Diversity

Hahamonga Watershed Animal Scavenger Hunt

Below, you'll find a link to the species I identified in the Hahamonga watershed from about 8:30-11:00 AM.

Animal Scavenger Hunt

Willow Flowchart

A quick guide to identifying the three main species of willow in Eaton Canyon.

Plant Plasticity Project: Alnus Rombifolia notes

For this project, I observed how the white alder(Alnus rhombifolia) changed its form to better adapt to its environment. These are the notes that preceded the final project.

Day 1 Observations
-(branch angle: 15%) to the North

-"Tree-eyes" are almost exclustively present on the side of the tree opposite of the sunlight.

-THe branches grow on both sides, but branches on the south(lacking sunlight) side remain twiggy, while banches the sunny side grow large and thick.

-Some twiggy branches on the south side grow in a curved direction towards light.

-Leaves grow almost exclusively on the north side

-"Horror Vacuii"--any gap between leaves is filled by leaves from another plant(compare to rainforest plants)

-Twigs v branches

-Fast growth, fills space in response to the clean slate a flood creates

-Idea: Does mexican devil(Ageratina adenophora)'s growth fill the space where sunlight leaks through the alders?

-Mexican devil acts as a terrestrial version of the alder, many branches sprout  from their origin plant and try to absorb sunlight that manages to filter through the alder canopy


South Side of the river: Eyelets consistently about 3" apart, tree with 9" circumfrence had about a 1.5" distance between eyelets.

-Primary branches(primary being at least 4" in circumfrence): 7 out of 7 were facing one direction.
-Secondary branches(less than 4" in circumfrence) about 50% of branches on each side.
-90% of large branches are on the sun-facing side, the other 10% don't appear until about 15-20 ft up.

Note the angles of these branches: generally, they all jut out at about the same angle. In this case, approximately 35 degrees.

In this image,

Day 2: North Side
White alders on the north side follow the same principle of following the sunlight, only reversed: the branches grow south. The canyon wall does open a bit more here, so there are some alder branches that can grow large on the side opposite the river, but in general, the theory still applies.

-Mexican Devil seems to grow ina  poor, rocky soil where even alder cannot.
-Initial alder observation, seem to be heavily influened by the heights of the canyon walls--where the canyon walls are low or offer sunlight, alders grow straight up & have branches on all sides. When sunlight is poor, however, trees crane and stretch to grasp at the sunlight

-Also notable: when sunlight is plentiful, a few large individuals seem to grow as opposed to many small or medium specimens. In the areas with little light, many densely packed smaller, younger individuals grow in different directions.
Willow Riparian Alders
Here, alders dominate the landscape all along the river, growing in a line all along the exposed riverbank. Many more alders appear here, closer together in an almost unbroken line. They all grow straight up, but the secondary branches all face outward away from the alder grove, towards the sunlight and away from the shade.Mexican devil is uncommon. In one area, 30 alders grew in a 10 ft stretch.

-Alders can grow up to 30 inches a year, and are frequently the first plants to repopulate a river after a flood.