This Friday's shopping mission for Mr G involved a shorter-than-usual, but fascinating chat. Mr G observed that despite his efforts to keep the kitchen tidy, he constantly creates chaos. Opening tins of baked beans, cooking potatoes, and slicing a cabbage inevitably leads to a mess.

When I mentioned entropy (which in science is a measure of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty in a system), Mr G told me about Maʽat, an ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance and order - the opposite of Isfet symbolising chaos, injustice, violence.

We had some time to ponder separately about that dualism, where order cannot exist without chaos, while I was visiting the freezer section in Sainsbury's to buy frozen peas - not a typical item from Mr G's list. Just as entropy increases as systems evolve from order to disorder unless acted upon by external energy, the randomness of Mr G's shopping orders increased ever so slightly since my last visit.

Upon my return, we reflected on a universal truth: order must be actively maintained. Entropy is to physics what Isfet is to mythology - however we call that force, if we leave things unchecked, the natural drift in the universe is towards chaos Dishes need to be washed, the washing machine needs to be emptied, rubbish needs to be taken out.

GoodGymers are the truest practitioners of Ma’at — constantly working to sustain balance and harmony against the pull of Isfet: litter picking, cutting back brambles, decluttering a person's flat, painting toilets in a community theatre. It is a beautiful purpose to have.