Hi,
Interesting discussions about the nature of information, but the concept of
"information" may not be definable in terms of one or more simple sentences
but requires a system of nodes and arrows organized as an irreducible triad
as shown in Figure 1 below.
There is no doubt that "information" is deeply related to "semiosis" and
hence to the Peircean "sign". In a certain sense, "information" is a sign
and as such must be irreducibly triadic, which, again, may be represented
diagrammatically thus:
f g
Object ---------> Sign --------> Interpretant
| ^
| |
|__________________________|
h
Figure 1. "Information" as a Peircean sign and a mathematical category. f
= natural process; g = mental process; h = information flow. The
commutative requirement is thought to be satisfied: f x g = h.
Now, concerning the relation between "information" and "matter", if there
is "organized" matter, there must also exist "disorganized matter",
otherwise how can you tell whether matter is organized or not ? This
conclusion seems to agree with what Nick Herbert calls the "spectral area
code" [1], which in turn is a generalization of the Fourier theorem,
according to which any wave can be described most efficiently in terms of
its 'kin' waveform family which has its 'conjugate' waveform family which
is orthogonal to it and hence least efficient for describing the wave.
Perhaps matter is neither organized nor disorganized; it appears either
this way or that only to the human mind. Likewise with "information".
Matter is neither "informed" nor "uninformed"; it appears this way or that
only to the the human mind.
With all the best.
Sung
Reference:
[1] Herbert, N. (1985). Quantum Reality: Beyond New Physics. Anchor
Books, New York. Pp. 87-89.
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