extropy

1 9.9

A belief that human intelligence and technology will help life grow and improve across the universe

noun
/ɛkˈtrɒpi/

Jargon

: extropía

The concept of extropy suggests that human intelligence will foster the growth of life and culture across the universe.

Examples

She investigated extropy to learn how humanity might evolve positively in the cosmos.
Several years ago, I attended a most unusual conference at the Santa Monica Miramar Sheraton Hotel in southern California, sponsored by the Extropy Institute.

Academic text (1999)
That the atheist has the capacity for faith is elegantly illustrated by Michael Shermer in his account of a conference sponsored by the Extropy Institute: #

Academic text (2013)
Many futurists advocate extropy, which emphasizes the potential for human advancement through technology.

Antonyms

degenerationist

Archaic

9.6

Supporting the idea that a society or group is getting worse over time

Surface Forms

extropy singular

extropies plural

Morphology

extropy = entropy (semi-transparent) = ex + tropy

Formally modeled on and opposed to 'entropy', but it is a coined, technical neologism and the prefix 'ex-' is a nonstandard antonymic marker, so the relation is not fully predictable for average learners.

Etymology

Extropy was made as the opposite of entropy ('disorder'), with the prefix ex- meaning 'out' or 'beyond'. So extropy paints a picture of moving out of chaos toward more order, growth and the spread of intelligence and technology, which is why futurists use it for the idea that life can expand and improve.