Dear Joe, Dear FISers, I would like to add a short remark. In fact, I repeat a fact that I mentioned several times in the past. We often miss to list a very simple form of information among the others, namely that, what I call information on existence. This is a double-valued property, with the words of Joe, "binary opposition". Something exists here and now, or does not. E.g., I am here or I am not here; you are hungry or you are not hungry; it is red or not red, that object has the same colour like this, or has "different" colour, etc. (Note, difference is not certainly a binary category in itself, because it compares two things, where one of the compared things has one property, while the other side - asymmetrically - is many-valued. These many values may be finite, discrete infinite, or may belong to a smooth continuum.)
This observation comes for me from my experience with the description of symmetries in physics. For decades, there were described different kinds of symmetry by discrete groups, then by (continuous) Lie groups - more and more complicated appearances of symmetry phenomena. The significance of parity was recognised late, in the nineteen fifties, and I would say, that there are even now (fortunately not all, only) many physicists who are surprised when meet the difference between the behaviour of parity in odd and even dimensional spaces. This is caused by lack of general knowledge about the nature of paritiy. Nevertheless, the most simple appearance of the phenomenon. Something similar happened around existence type information. It is important, it is lovely, worthy of affection. Let us not forget/neglect it. Gyuri At 06:43 22.02.2010, you wrote: >Dear FIS Colleagues and Friends, > >As you have for a long time before me, I have >been trying to tame (I prefer the French make >private â apprivoiser) the notion of >information. One thought was suggested by >Batesonâs seemingly generally accepted dictum >of âa difference (and/or distinction) that >makes a difference. But I think this difference >is no ordinary âdeltaâ; this is an active >referring or better differing term like the >différance of Derrida. Iâm sure someone has >made a reference to this before Iâm new here >â but then Derrida uses différance to >question the structure of binary oppositions, >and says that différance âinvites us to undo >the need for balanced equations, to see if each >term in an opposition is not after all an >accomplice of the other. At the point where the >concept of différance intervenes, all of the >conceptual oppositions of metaphysics, to the >extent that they have for ultimate reference the >presence of a present (signifier/signified; >diachrony/synchrony; space/time; >passivity/aactivity, etc.) become non-pertinent. >Since most of the usual debates about >information are based on such conceptual >oppositions, and classical notions of here and >now, it may be high time to deconstruct them. > >I am sure you are familiar with this, but I >found it rather interesting to read that >Kolmogorov had given one definition of >information as âany operator which changes the >distribution of probabilities in a given set of >eventsâ. (Apparently, this idea was attacked by Markov.) > >Différance in the informational context then >started looking to me like an operator, >especially since in my process logic, where >logical elements of real processes resemble >probabilities, the logical operators are also >processes, such that a predominantly actualized >positive implication, for example, is always >accompanied by a predominantly potentialized negative implication. > >At the end of all this, then, one has, starting from the lowest level: >a) information as what is processed by a computer; >b) information as a scalar quantity of >uncertainty removed, the entropy/negentropy picture; >c) semantic information as well-formed, meaningful data (Floridi); >d) information as a process operator that >makes a difference to and for other processes, >including above all those of receivers and senders. > >A first useful consequence is that information >âoperationsâ with my operator are naturally >polarized, positive, negative or some >combination which Iâll leave open for the >moment. The negative effects of some information >follow naturally. Many of you may conclude Iâm >doing some oversimplification or conflation, and >I apologize for that in advance. But I believe >that Kolmogorovâs original idea has been >neglected in the recent discussions of >information Iâve seen, and I would very much >welcome comments. Thank you and best wishes. > >Joseph >_______________________________________________ >fis mailing list >[email protected] >https://webmail.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis <http://symmetry.hu/coming-meetings.html>Bridges Conference 2010, Pecs<http://symmetry.hu/coming-meetings.html>, 24-28 July <http://vod.niif.hu/symmetry2009/>Symmetry Festival 2009, Keynote and Plenary lectures <http://symmetry.hu/2009/foreword.html>Foreword to the Symmetry Festival <http://symmetry.hu/festival2009.html>Symmetry Festival 2009, Budapest, 31 July - 5 August ______________________________________________________ <http://www.mtakszi.iif.hu/darvas.htm>Gyorgy Darvas E-mail / Skype: [email protected] <http://symmetry.hu/>S Y M M E T R I O N Address: c/o MTA KSZI; 18 Nador St., Budapest, H-1051 Hungary Mailing address: P.O. Box 994, Budapest, H-1245 Hungary Fax: 36 (1) 331-3161 Phone: 36 (1) 312-3022; 36 (1) 331-3975 <http://www.birkhauser.ch/978-3-7643-7554-6>Monograph: <http://www.birkhauser.ch/978-3-7643-7554-6>Symmetry <http://hps.elte.hu/oktaeder/atmeneti/darvas.htm#English>Course of lectures _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ fis mailing list [email protected] https://webmail.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis
