Re: [Fis] (no subject)

Dear Koichiro,

Many thanks for your inspiring opening of the New Year. Time is perhaps the
most elusive aspect of information. As was said once in this list, we can
make interesting taxonomies and structural analysis on information
categories, but when we focus on information dynamics, on its variation in
time, things get amazingly difficult.

Given that we are facing a discussion on "autopiesis and meaning" pretty
soon (see note below), let me get ahead connecting with it and wondering
how your reflection on the need to focus attention "on the distinction
between present progressive and present perfect tense" would apply to the
meaning problem.

Also, retaking Rafael's point on the "mortal bucket", another germane
concern would be towards what kind of cellular-molecular operations could
be somehow 'decomposed' our meanings and their load of time-related
problems. In my hunch, there is a bandwagon of associated concepts that
conventionally are worlds apart, but they look quite close to each other
under the information perspective: meaning, value, utility, fitness,
knowledge. Adumbrating the time conflicts (and different time regimes?)
inherent of these fuzzy concepts emerging out from biological (cellular)
self-production and adaptation looks a crucial part of our information agenda.

Even more, looking at human knowIedge (that perhaps is not so especial and
is caught under similar premises to biological knowledge), from a
multidisciplinary perspective, I would put that 'all knowledge is
local' and that there is not such thing as a 'disembodied knowledge'.
Through the multiple differences introduced by venues, corporate bodies,
social institutions, and cultures our local knowledge circulates and, by
doing so, it becomes 'closer' to universal and cosmopolitan --I think that
Benkin's last posting was also pointing in this direction (see Livingstone,
2003).

I hope these reflections are not much incoherent regarding your seminal
opening.

Best wishes to all, and best hopes that 2004 will be another exciting year
for our fis discussions

Pedro

Note: The session on "Autopiesis and Meaning" planned for 14th January will
start a little bit later, next 22nd January, due to a travel commitment by
Soeren.
Received on Fri Jan 9 11:43:12 2004