FIS Friends,
We have had a great conference in Paris. It was really important for most
FISers to be able to see each other and talk face to face after almost ten
years of only Internet exchanges (Vienna 1996 was the last "real"
occasion). There has been a number of interesting debates and presentations
along the conference, perhaps particularly in the round table that Peter
Erdi organized --one could really "feel" the advancement of the whole
information science fields... as Hans C. von Baer put it (in far more
eloquent terms). In what follows I transcribe the Desiderata he penned
after the round table --with a minimalist edition. They may help to
maintain some presence of the conference themes during the coming weeks
until the next regular discussion-session starts (as usual we will make
Summer vacations, returning to sessions around middle of September,
tentatively about the theme of biomolecular networks).
SOME SUGGESTED DESIDERATA FOR A SCIENCE OF INFORMATION
1. Incorporate and integrate parts of existing technical subjects which
currently are scattered among other disciplines:
-- Communication Theory
-- Complexity Theory
-- Probability Theory
-- Automata Theory
-- Cellular Automata
-- Networks and Graphs
-- "Natural Computer Science"
-- Semiotics
2. Make contact with well structured classical disciplines and recent
explorations such as:
-- Physics ("information physics", "quantum information")
-- Chemistry ("molecular recognition", "chemoinformatics")
-- Biology ("bioinformation", "bioinformatics", "biocomputing")
-- Computer Science (Artificial Life, Artificial Intelligence)
-- Economics ("Information Economy", Economic Networks, )
-- Social Science (Socioinformation, "Information Society", Sustainable
Development)
3. Distil simple guiding principles (called "themata" by Gerald Holton)
such as:
-- Ockam's razor
-- Data compression
-- Universality (Turing machine, coding conventions)
-- Second law principles (Law of diminishing information)
-- Bayesian probability
-- Zeilinger's principle (or alternatives)
4. Advancement of an informational philosophy
-- Informational causation
-- Externalism / Internalism
-- Reduction / Integration (reductionism / wholism)
-- Agency
-- Ethical guidelines
-- Search for heuristic value in information sience (or build new bridges
among disciplines).
-----------------------------------
The list is intended as a stimulus to postconference discussions. Please,
add your own suggestion and amendments --or further criteria on how to
chart the new science bones and flesh.
Thanks are due to all the participants in FIS 2005, and above all to the
organizers, Michel and Francis, for their splendid dedicated work!
best wishes
Pedro
Received on Tue Jul 12 18:06:30 2005
