Michael said:
>I would say that those who might claim that physics is merely applied
>mathematics, that it lacks any self standing domain, are certainly
>mistaken. Those of us who are physical scientists recognize that our
>models of the physical world must always be validated by tangible
>observations in controlled experiments. That, I believe, distinguishes
>the physical sciences from pure mathematics. I have yet to meet the
>chemist, biologist, geologist, paleontologist, astronomer, or physicist
>who seeks to treat matter itself as a disembodied abstract entity.
>Landauer certainly didn�t do that, and the rest of us, also, I believe,
>clearly see the difference between a mathematical model of the physical
>world, and the world itself. Because we carefully observe that world in
>our experiments.
SS: However, I would point out that experimental observations could be
claimed to be 'the word made machine'. That is to say, experiments are
constructed by text-guided engineering, and are in no wise interrogations
of Nature raw. This is the deep postmodern critique of natural science.
Words all the way down!
John H said:
>If info transmission is an 'event' (as Stanley and Rafael) suggest, then
>what is
>its essential structure? 'Any surprising such representing a range of
suches'
>perhaps? If so then any mere transmission of physical data (signals)
>would only qualify as information under certain conditions.
>
>-snip-
>
>I suppose I am arguing that information transfer is not a transmission
>of X from point A to point B but the act of in-form-ation becomes a
>trans-form-ation to Y in the process (just as reading material print
>can inform and transform the consciousness of a reader).
SS: Here I would plug in the triadic Uexkullian / Peircean view of
semiosis, involving object, sign, and system of interpretance (I have a pdf
of these complex relations for anyone interested.)
STAN
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Received on Tue Jul 25 21:45:56 2006
