Shuffling a Deck of Cards – A Process Theoretically Reversible

Shuffling a standard 52-card deck may seem trivial, but from the perspective of
mathematics and physics, it is a fascinating example of a dynamical system with an enormous
number of possible states. This analysis demonstrates that the shuffling process is theoretically
reversible, and the probability of a spontaneous decrease in entropy is not zero, although it is
extremely small. In this paper, we discuss deck permutations, system entropy, and the
probability of returning to an ordered state, using principles from nonlinear dynamics [1–4].