info & physics

Dear Gente FIS,

Having read Andrei's and John's I have some comments.

Andrei´s paper has a central goal in my view: linking the reflection on
information to a host of 'new physics' themes: non-demolition measurement,
decoherence and scaling, iteration, optimization and power laws, 'golden
numbers'... While John focuses in physical entropy and information theory
(Gatlin-Brooks-Willey) to establish, with some other systems' thinking, a
conceptual cluster -cohesion, components, level, etc.- to help escalating
along a hierarchy of evolving info systems.

There are many details and questions I would love asking face-to-face; and
also I could mark quite many coincidences. But there is more fun
emphasizing the differences. The central one -exaggerating- is that both
ways of thought are physically oriented, and are trying to incardinate info
on physical grounds. I disagree with that enterprise.

My own position is that 'informational' existences (which start only with
the biological) are characterized by an unending adaptation of their
structures to the environment, mediating an ad hoc flow of communication,
which impinges upon and controls a plethora of synthesis and degradation
processes -somehow in my paper I reelaborate the three 'info genera' theme.
There is a monumental autonomy from physics involved (although not complete
independence, of course) for these entities temporary emerging to existence
out from the overall structural, generative and communicational info game.
Coinciding with Andrei, there is a specific signature or 'cannon' of
special power laws (which I deduce out from Javorszky's partitional
algebra) appearing as the general mark derived from such unending adaptive
game performed by the informational entities in their niches--see Morris
Villarroel paper in this e-conf. too. The paradoxical 'evanescent
permanence' of info entities would be achieved through a massive
partitional game, we think...

To sum up, my very partisan view is that info conceptualizations are
separated well enough from physical ones (see the intriguing Roederer's
e-conf. paper too!); and that perhaps we should emphasize as a goal,
convergent research by fisers on EMPIRICAL grounds upon three paradigmatic
info existentialities: CELLS, BRAINS, FIRMS.

Let me add that the explicit addition of Firms as a basic field for fis
empirical research stems out from a recent exchange of views I had with
business-school researchers in Barcelona. Exploring the info nature of
firms appears as a fascinating topic: e.g., their 'evanescent permanence'
achieved through bookeeping records based on symmetry and symmetry breaking
in their exchanges with the niche...

best wishes

Pedro

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Pedro C. Marijuán
Fundación CIRCE
CPS Univ. Zaragoza, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
TEL. (34) 976 762036-761863, FAX (34) 976 732078
email: marijuan@posta.unizar.es
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Received on Mon May 13 13:59:42 2002