(no subject)

Dear FIS Colleagues

Please find below some thoughts related to the current discussion
on the Physics of Information. I am not a physicist so some of the
ways of approaching the issue may come over in a different way
to the usual scheme - anyway, here goes.

The discussion presented below seeks to provide a partial catalogue
of some of the 'tools of thought' that are used to talk about
'information'. I think it will also be appropriate to other parts of the
FIS conference but make a beginning here.

I have tended to apply the analysis to biological ideas regarding
information but think there is some scope to extend the discussion to
physics also.

At this point I am not directly addressing physical or philosophical
problems but rather seeking to clarify the nature of the concepts and
(possible) referents which people use.

My basic argument why the following type of analysis is of value relates
to comments made by Roche (1990) who notes that many concepts, even in classical
physics, are poorly understood. A simple example would be: how can I explain
the idea of (say) latent heat or free energy or information without using
mathematics or analogy ?

As a result of this kind of reflection, it may turn out that
some ideas are mathematically defined but
may be physical artefacts. Others may be abstract objects in their own right.
I think PART of the problem of understanding the nature or existence of
'information' is that no-one is really clear on its status.
Consequently, how can we get it to go beyond the syntax of mathematical
equations ? This argument is also pursued by e.g., Rosen, Pattee etc.

Information Verbs to Metaphors
==============================

Some background to the ideas discussed in this section
can be found on the Metaphor in Scientific Thinking Web Page:

      http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~rcp/metaphor.html

It is proposed that an analysis of verbs commonly used in
association with information can help clarify some of
the boundaries of our understanding.

"is transferred <from> <to> <via> ... "
This presupposes a CIRCUIT in which information flows.
What does transfer imply:

        source - - > destination (could be teleological)
        carrier (see below)
          flow - - > time, duration, cost of movement, direction ...

Clearly, thermodynamic issues apply here as well as local interactions.

"acts on" or "is acted on by"
In this case information becomes a thing or a force.

"interacts"
There are a number of associated verbs in this area that can be related to
acts but also suggest many exchanges as in a society. In this case

"contains" and/or "is contained in"
The container metaphor predominates a number of areas - not least
dominant ideas about hereditary information.

"carries" or "is carried"
This is similar to contains and CIRCUIT.

"information = form"
This is common in certain biological discussions. It can be related to
D'Arcy Thompson and subsequently to e.g., Thom's semio physics and
other arguments that organisms are coded representations of their
environment.

Information : Glue, Verb and Relation
Information is involved/produced/generated when physical objects
interact.

Further details:
        http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~biocomp/areas/glue2.html

Rephrasing a comment by Shroedinger, the most striking feature
of quantum mechanics is the 'non classical'
kind of 'glue' that is called entanglement.

Information, Meaning and Symbol
Cognition and interpretation may not be appropriate ideas in physics
although some authors make use of such reasoning in their proposals.
I'm sure this will be a developing theme as the conference
unfolds.

Some References
Mirowski, P. (1989) More Heat than Light Economics as Social Physics:
Physics as Nature's Economics, Cambridge: CUP.

Roche, J. (1990), New Tasks for the Philosophy of Physics, in Bhaskar, R. (ed)
Harr‚e and His Critics, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 89-111.

Ray Paton
The Liverpool BioComputation Group
Department of Computer Science
University of Liverpool
Liverpool L69 3BX
UK
Received on Fri Jan 30 12:06:34 1998