Re: Information/world

Dear FISers

Greetings to all for the new year. Sorry I am so late in the response to
Jim, Shu-Kun and Jerry, lumped here following with the general reflections
started byTed, but the vacations and an inopportune flu have kept me out of
game.

>That in the world through which one, perceiving the world, arrives at his
>conception of the world, that, in the order of the Blessed One, is called
>the world...

It strongly reminds me the comments that our colleague Otto Rossler made in
his May 25 1998 message on consciousness (see our mail archive in the web:
http://fis.iguw.tuwien.ac.at/mailings/)... "Chuang-Tzu called it 'the
water'. The fish are unable to see it and talk about it, he claimed"... In
my own opinion, going into the language of physics, it would be 'the field'.

>If one or two of you would be willing to comment briefly upon the
>quotation within this forum, I would be much obliged. Your comments would
>be of great value in furthering my own research. If you are curious I
>will try to encapsulate my project in a few JPEG files that can be
>attached to a future mailing.

Yes please, send them. But given that posting files into the list is highly
unwelcome (policy rules) send your JPEG files to Rey Abe at
fisadmin@igw.tuwien.ac.at , so that he will insert them into our web pages
and we will able to watch them there.

----------------
It is curious the coincidence in time between Jim's posting and Shu-Kun's
posting about entropy and Leyton's stuff. Months ago, Jim had introduced
Michael Leyton into our discussion scope, and it is really interesting the
congruence recently found between the generative approach to form by ML and
the new approach to molecular similarity championed by SK. The very brief
point I want to make, relating to Jerry and Ted comments, is that we need a
new approach to info where this concept gets its own path, separated from
group theory and the conceptualization of symmetry and entropy. Actually
info becomes a 'leftover' in current symmetry approaches, while in the new
view based on set theory (Karl's partitions?), symmetry would appear as a
leftover and 'distinction' should remain as the atomic or minimalist
logical basis of the new system of thought. Indeed at the time being we
should find chances to collectively explore this 'other side of the
mirror' with respect to symmetry & group theory.

Probably I have encapsulated too briefly (and rather uglily) the idea, but
I think we should struggle to open a new conceptual 'info' approach to
symmetry-entropy, organization, etc. Then a new vision of life would
progressively appear: of chemical-cellular nature as Jerry suggests, but
also of organismic and economic 'info natures'. And of course, we would
also be able to continue the very interesting philo discussion of these
days... perhaps trying to find new bottles for the new wine.

best wishes

Pedro
Received on Tue Jan 7 14:52:53 2003