Olivier Beauregard nsIn information thermodynamics, Olivier Beauregard (1911-2007) was a French theoretical physicist, having had a general interest in the relationship between mind and matter, and noted for his 1963 book The Second Principle of Time, in which he attempts to reconcile reversible time of relativity, and irreversible time of consciousness and thermodynamics, using the information theory ideas of Leo Szilard and Leon Brillouin. [1] In short, he seems to equate negative entropy (neguentropy) with information and speculates on how acquisitions of information in the mind consumes negative entropy, but also how the mind can generate negative entropy, thus increasing organization. [2] Beauregard also co-wrote a 1972 article defending the thermodynamics interpretation of information with Myron Tribus. [3]

Education
Costa de Beauregard’s 1943 PhD dissertation was on the electron theory of Paul Dirac. [4]

References
1. Costa de Beauregard, Olivier. (1963). The Second Principle of the Science of Time, Entropy, Information, and Irreversibility. Paris: Seuil.
2. Rosnay, Joel. (1975). The Macroscope: a New World Scientific System (pgs. 164-67). Harper & Row Publishers (1979 Eng. Trans.).
3. Costa de Beauregard, Olivier and Tribus, Myron. (1972). “Information Theory and Thermodynamics”, in Maxwell’s Demon 2 (pgs. 137-145) by Harvey S. Leff and Andrew F. Rex, CRC Press, 2003.
4. Olivier Costa de Beauregard – MetaPsychique.org (French → English).

Further reading
● Costa de Beauregard, Olivier (1970). “(reporter): Discussion on Temporal Asymmetry in Thermodynamics and Cosmology, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Thermodynamics, held in Cardiff, edited by P.T. Landsberg. London: Butterworths.
● Costa de Beauregard, Olivier. (1970). Is there a Paradox in the Theory of Time Anistorpy, in A Critical Review of Thermodynamics, edited by E.B. Stuart, B. Gal-Or and A.J. Brainard. Baltimore: Mono Book Corps, pgs. 463-72; see also: Studium Generale, 54, 10 (1971).
● Lestienne, Remy and Neher, E.C. (1998). The Creative Power of Chance (section: Mental Information as an “Entropy Saver”, pg. 109-101). University of Illinois Press.

External links
Olivier Costa de Beauregard – Wikipedia (French → English).

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