Dear Xueshan - re Nalewajski's conjecture that molecular systems have information I am skeptical. The word information originated with the idea of forming the mind according to the OED. Information as far as I am concerned requires a sentient being to receive and understand it. Molecules and atoms react to forces not information. They have no idea of the forces acting on them. They are not informed as they have no sentience that can be informed. Information requires an interpretant for which the signal has meaning. Shannon's information theory is merely signal theory as all he is concerned with is how well a set of symbols or a signal are transmitted from the sender to the receiver. The ability of the receiver to decipher the signal or interpret the signal has no bearing on the reception of Shannon information. Shannon information has nothing to do with meaning. A set of random numbers has the maximum amount of Shannon information and yet has no meaning. If my set of symbols have meaning for you, whether or not you agree with the premise they represent, then they are information. As for a molecule or even a flower or a penguin they are not information. In other words information has to inform as a grammatical analysis of the word information implies. A representation represents, a contradiction contradicts, a saturation saturates and in general an "X"tion "X"es and therefore information informs or at least has the capability of informing. So while a text in the Basque or Albanian languages might not inform me because of my inability with these languages they are capable of informing those familiar with the Basque and Albanian languages respectively and are therefore informaton. A random set of letters cannot inform anyone yet they have maximum Shannon information. Information is a tricky thing.
This line of thought raises the question of whether or not DNA is information. DNA does not inform a sentient being yet it does catalyze and hence instructs how RNA is produced which in turn catalyzes and instructs how proteins are created which in turn gives rise to bodily functions. Therefore we suggested that DNA represents a different form of information from Shannon information which we called biotic or instructional information. The argument can be found in the paper Propagating of Organization: An Inquiry by Stuart Kauffman, Robert K. Logan, Robert Este, Randy Goebel, David Hobill and Ilya Smulevich. published in 2007 in Biology and Philosophy 23: 27-45. I am happy to share this paper with anyone requesting it. Bob Logan On 2013-04-14, at 9:59 PM, Xueshan Yan wrote: > > Dear Michel, > > Thank you! > > I am very familiar with your FIS 2005 website long before. > > Have you read the Polish chemist Nalewajski's book: > Information theory of molecular systems (Elsevier, 2006), I > really want to know if there are INFORMATON that play a role > between two atoms, or two molecules, or two supramolecules > as Jean-Marie Lehn said. > > As to FIS 2005, I need every review about all four FIS > conferences held in Madrid, Vienna, Paris, and Beijing, but > only a general review about FIS 2005 not be given by people > so far. > > Best regards, > > Xueshan > 9:59, April 15, 2013 Peking University > > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Michel Petitjean [mailto:petitjean.chi...@gmail.com] > >> Sent: Sunday, April 14, 2013 6:19 PM >> To: Yan Xueshan >> Subject: Re: About FIS 2005 >> >> Dear Xueshan, >> As far as I know, there is no longer report, but I am at > your >> disposal if you wish to get more: please feel free to ask > me. >> Also you may have a look at the programme, the > proceedings, >> and all what is available from the main welcome page: >> http://www.mdpi.org/fis2005/ Best, Michel. >> >> >> 2013/4/14 Xueshan Yan <y...@pku.edu.cn>: >>> >>> Dear Michel, >>> >>> May I ask you a favor? >>> >>> Do you have any more detailed review about FIS 2005, > except >> your FIS >>> 2005 brief conference report published in >>> http://www.mdpi.org/entropy/htm/e7030188.htm? >>> >>> Best regards, >>> >>> Xueshan >>> 17:47, April 14, 2013 >>> >> > ______________________ Robert K. Logan Chief Scientist - sLab at OCAD Prof. Emeritus - Physics - U. of Toronto www.physics.utoronto.ca/Members/logan
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