Variational Free Energy (Free Energy Principle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_energy_principle)

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If the idea of *Free Energy* – a study of the universal phenomenon of Entropy – is adapted to various fields of study such as *Gibbs Free Energy* (chemistry) and *Helmholtz Free Energy* (explosions/ballistics), then could *Variational Free Energy* resemble some kind of Bayesian method of approximating the distribution of randomness/chaos/disorder/free energy (all different though related methods of studying Entropy) in the universe?

I conceptualize it this way because Information and Entropy are also closely related, where Information Entropy represents the amount of uncertainty/”surprise”/randomness/chaos/disorder – to be clarified by the value of some random variable or outcome of a random process ( [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy_(information_theory)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy_(information_theory))

Without getting too technical with mathematics and statistics, would this be a reasonably accurate understanding (that could be communicated to a lay person)? That Life functions to minimize this *Variational Free Energy* – or the discrepancy between its model of the world and the actual reality of the world?

Insights and perspectives are much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

In: Physics

Anonymous 0 Comments

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_energy_principle

Hello u/D3sidud3, it appears you tried to put a link in a title, since most users cant click these I have placed it here for you

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