Some structures or patterns will last for billions of years, some for a split second, but none are conserved. They are evanescent, like waves on the ocean’s surface. The first law of thermodynamics tells us that the ocean of energy is always there; it’s conserved. The second law of thermodynamics tells us that all the forms that emerge will eventually dissolve back into the ocean of energy. The forms, like the movements of a dance, are not conserved.
