Biological Phlogiston

dear Jerry
dear All,

Jerry comments on Ray & Werner motivate these answers of mine:

>* What is information ?

No idea. I have at least three personal opinions about its nature
(inconsistent ones, fortunately). Besides, when I ponder the classical
views, plus the original ones espoused by several fis colleagues, I cannot
help but conclude that info is sort of a PHLOGISTON of our time... (and
that4s what fascinates me!). If I am not too wrong, like in the phlogiston
era, we might be missing some crucial aspects of the analysis. But no
classification in levels and subsystems (a la Miller) can help us about
that. Taxonomies do not advance science, bold hypothesis may do.

> NO INFORMATION COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT FROM LIFE IS KNOWN

That4s a truism, derived from firmly espousing one of the above partial
answers. The bio relation with info appears more or less clear, at least
intuitively, in the Shannonian and non-Shannonian aspects (I agree with
Jerry comments on variables of bio-systems: the capacity to select
important variables from the environment, or to neglect them, appears as
the leit motiv of cellular signaling systems and nervous systems). But the
relationship we can establish between those very info phenomena and
inanimated nature is quite dense, and unsubstantiated at the time being...

> The question of language is, in my mind, a far deeper issue than
>suggested > here... the systematic organization of closures of scientific
>languages...> Do any other possible starting points exist which > might
>help us in making this separation (from physics)?

Agreement. But in my opinion the relationship with physics is not very
crucial. If we could make significant advancements in the understanding of
cellular signaling systems (let us be modest! they are new comers to the
sci. arena), in the nervous system processing role, and in of our own
social relationships between the "economic" production of social life and
the world of knowledge, then something interesting might be gained. And
quite probably it will at odds with the state/dynamical laws dichotomy and
other mentally toxic views of our reputed discipline of physics...(Of
course, easy said than done.)

greetings from Zaragoza
Pedro

-----------------------------------------------------------
Pedro C. Marijuan --FAX 34 976 761 861 --TEL 34 976 761 927
Dto. Ingenieria Electronica y Comunicaciones
CPS, Universidad de Zaragoza
Zaragoza 50015, SPAIN
Received on Fri Feb 27 13:03:14 1998