  The unification of gravity with the three other forces has been an important
goal of physics for some time now, because a quantum theory of gravity is
necessary to explain the universe at its earliest moments. Its pursuit has
largely assumed gravity's independent existence, but E. Verlinde proposed that
gravity is not a fundamental force but a macroscopic phenomenon that emerges as
a result of thermodynamic principles applied to the information of mass
distributions. Under this framework we consider the roles played by quantum
microstates, entanglement, information theory, the AdS/CFT Correspondence, and
String Theory in general. We also ask whether Verlinde's proposal suggests that
action principles should be thermodynamic in nature.
