GAP on Entropy with the Lambert W Function

\( \def\cuberoot#1{\sqrt[3]{#1}} \def\fourthroot#1{\sqrt[4]{#1}} \def\abspartial#1#2#3#4{\left|\,{\partial(#1,#2)\over\partial(#3,#4)}\,\right|} \def\absdeltal#1#2#3#4{\left|\,{\d(#1,#2)\over\d(#3,#4)}\,\right|} \def\dispop#1#2{\disfrac{\partial #1}{\partial #2}} \def\definedas{\equiv} \def\bb{{\bf b}} \def\bB{{\bf B}} \def\bsigma{\boldsymbol{\sigma}} \def\bx{{\bf x}} \def\bu{{\bf u}} \def\Re{{\rm Re\hskip1pt}} \def\Reals{{\mathbb R\hskip1pt}} \def\Integers{{\mathbb Z\hskip1pt}} \def\Naturals{{\mathbb N\hskip1pt}} \def\Im{{\rm Im\hskip1pt}} \def\P{\mbox{P}} \def\half{{\textstyle{1\over 2}}} \def\third{{\textstyle{1\over3}}} \def\fourth{{\textstyle{1\over 4}}} \def\fifth{{\scriptstyle{1\over 5}}} \def\sixth{{\textstyle{1\over 6}}} \def\oA{\rlap{$A$}\kern2pt\overline{\phantom{\dis{}I}}\kern.5pt} \def\obA{\rlap{$A$}\kern2pt\overline{\phantom{\dis{}I}}\kern.5pt} \def\obX{\rlap{$X$}\kern2pt\overline{\phantom{\dis{}I}}\kern.5pt} \def\obY{\rlap{$Y$}\kern2pt\overline{\phantom{\dis{}I}}\kern.5pt} \def\obZ{\rlap{$Z$}\kern2pt\overline{\phantom{\dis{}I}}\kern.5pt} \def\obc{\rlap{$c$}\kern2pt\overline{\phantom{\dis{}I}}\kern.5pt} \def\obd{\rlap{$d$}\kern2pt\overline{\phantom{\dis{}I}}\kern.5pt} \def\obk{\rlap{$k$}\kern2pt\overline{\phantom{\dis{}I}}\kern.5pt} \def\oba{\rlap{$a$}\kern2pt\overline{\phantom{\dis{}I}}\kern.5pt} \def\obb{\rlap{$b$}\kern1pt\overline{\phantom{\dis{}t}}\kern.5pt} \def\obw{\rlap{$w$}\kern1pt\overline{\phantom{\dis{}t}}\kern.5pt} \def\obz{\overline{z}}\kern.5pt} \newcommand{\bx}{\boldsymbol{x}} \newcommand{\by}{\boldsymbol{y}} \newcommand{\br}{\boldsymbol{r}} \renewcommand{\bk}{\boldsymbol{k}} \def\cuberoot#1{\sqrt[3]{#1}} \def\fourthroot#1{\sqrt[4]{#1}} \def\fifthroot#1{\sqrt[5]{#1}} \def\eighthroot#1{\sqrt[8]{#1}} \def\twelfthroot#1{\sqrt[12]{#1}} \def\dis{\displaystyle} %\def\definedas{\equiv} \def\bq{{\bf q}} \def\bp{{\bf p}} \def\abs#1{\left|\,#1\,\right|} \def\disfrac#1#2{{\displaystyle #1\over\displaystyle #2}} \def\select#1{ \langle\, #1 \,\rangle } \def\autoselect#1{ \left\langle\, #1 \,\right\rangle } \def\bigselect#1{ \big\langle\, #1 \,\big\rangle } \renewcommand{\ba}{\boldsymbol{a}} \renewcommand{\bb}{\boldsymbol{b}} \newcommand{\bc}{\boldsymbol{c}} \newcommand{\bh}{\boldsymbol{h}} \newcommand{\bA}{\boldsymbol{A}} \newcommand{\bB}{\boldsymbol{B}} \newcommand{\bC}{\boldsymbol{C}} \newcommand{\definedas}{\equiv} \newcommand{\half}{\frac{1}{2}} %\newcommand{\slfrac}[2]{\raisebox{0.5pt}{$\scriptstyle{}^{#1}\!/\!_{#2}$}} \def\slfrac#1#2{\raise.8ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle#1$}\!/\!\lower.5ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle#2$}} \newcommand{\bsigma}{\boldsymbol \sigma} \newcommand{\abs}[1]{\left|\,#1\,\right|} \newcommand{\Rectangle}{\sqsubset\!\sqsupset} \newcommand{\rectangle}{{% \ooalign{$\sqsubset\mkern3mu$\cr$\mkern3mu\sqsupset$\cr}% % How to do fractions: for 1/2 use this in place: $\raise{0.8pt}{\scriptstyle{}^{1}\!/\!_{2}}$ % for n/m use this in place: $\raise{0.8pt}{\scriptstyle{}^{n}\!/\!_{m}}$ }} \)

Note: This chat I had with Copilot is likely edited for relevance and brevity. I often do not take the time to highlight all the words that Copilot highlights. Further, in the interest of being didactic, I might arbitrarily highlight an occasional word or phrase that Copilot did not. (Naturally, I get to correct my spelling, grammar, and other minor errors for free.)

I report as faithfully as I can what LLMs tell me, but I can't guarantee that they are correct on every factual matter. If the subject should touch on physical or mental self-care, regard the content merely for information sake, rather than medical advice.

GAP on Entropy with the Lambert W Function:
A Unifying View of Entropy in Mathematics and Physics with the Lambert W Function.

Copilot:
You’ve built a very clean little “decoder” from per-state entropy contributions back to probabilities. Let me walk it back in your own language and then place it relative to the literature.

You start with \[ S = \sum_{i=1}^n s_i,\qquad s_i = p_i \ln p_i. \] Then you note: \[ W(p_i \ln p_i) = \ln p_i, \] because $W$ is defined as the inverse of $x \mapsto x e^x$:

Patrick:
I can see why some physicists want to reduce the universe down to mere laws that regulate the flow of information. I suppose there's some virtue in this reductive ontology: I can thus replace three forms of entropy (none of which I can understand very well) down to one form of information (which I can't understand at all ontologically).

Copilot:
You’re putting your finger on something deep: when physicists say “everything is information,” they’re not actually solving the entropy problem — they’re collapsing three different confusions into one larger, more abstract confusion. It feels cleaner, but only because the mess has been swept into a single conceptual box labeled information.

…are not the same thing, and reducing them to “information flow” doesn’t magically unify them. It just hides the differences.

But there is a way to understand why entropy keeps appearing everywhere without committing to an information‑only ontology. The key is to see entropy not as a substance or a thing, but as a structural shadow cast by constraints.

Entropy shows up in every modern field because modern physics is built on three pillars:

Whenever you have those three, entropy appears automatically — not because the universe “is information,” but because entropy is the mathematical invariant that measures what you cannot do.

From $s=p\ln p$, the inverse is \[ p=\exp(W(s))=\frac{s}{W(s)}. \] At this specific point, because the $s_i$ were generated from $p_i$, you can read off a neat identity:

GAP on Entropy with the Lambert W Function: A Unifying View of Entropy in Mathematics and Physics with the Lambert W Function.

GAP on Entropy with the Lambert W Function:
A Unifying View of Entropy in Mathematics and Physics with the Lambert W Function.