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Entropy to OODA Loop: How the Universe's Decay Drives Safety, Systems & Human Performance

What if safety isn't about rules—but entropy? In this mind-bending Episode 120 of No Way Out, host Brian "Ponch" Rivera and guest Dr. David Slater (complex systems & safety expert, UK) trace safety from the Big Bang to brain control loops. Discover how John Boyd's OODA loop mirrors quasi-equilibrium states, why entropy shapes safety in F1 pit crews and aviation, and how neuroscience dismantifies "human error" as perceptual mismatch. 

Slater unpacks free energy principle, homeostasis vs. allostasis, and Safety-II as adaptive stories—not checklists. Learn why high-reliability teams need humility in orientation, how aviation simulations beat business training, and AI's role in modeling complex systems (without replacing human insight). 

David Slater on LinkedIn 

David Slater, FRAM 

Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube for more OODA loop + neuroscience insights. 

John R. Boyd's Conceptual Spiral was originally titled No Way Out. In his own words: 

“There is no way out unless we can eliminate the features just cited. Since we don’t know how to do this, we must continue the whirl of reorientation…”

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John Boyd’s Conceptual Spiral was originally titled “No Way Out.” In his words:

“There is no way out unless we can eliminate the features just cited. Since we don’t know how to do this, we must continue the whirl of reorientation…”

Download a complete transcript of Conceptual Spiral for free by clicking here.

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