Hi Loet, I do indeed consider this relationship to be measurable and thus expressible mathematically. This in itself doesn't mean that it ignores content. Indeed, a specific content and a specific target function-state are prerequisites, and so must be assumed in the analysis. In my opinion, as necessary assumptions, this makes the part of the background physics. So there must be both universality and physical specificity to this analysis— the specificity of referent and significant end-state treated as givens in the equation.
The term "expected" plays a crucial role here. It introduces a Bayesian implication behind Shannon's analysis. But it also is what necessitates the self-repairing, self-reproducing features of autogenesis. To specify information what a given constraint-state of a medium represents there must be a reference state. However, it cannot be MEP or even maximum thermodynamic entropy (analogous to Shannon's entropy) but instead the work differential between current state of degraded autogenesis and a reconstituted or reproduced autogen. — Terry On 1/18/15, Loet Leydesdorff <l...@leydesdorff.net> wrote: > Dear Terry and colleagues, > > > > “As I have said a number of times, my goal is not to deal with all aspects > of the information concept, and certainly not at the level of human thought. > I merely propose to dissolve the implicit dualism in our current concepts at > the most basic level, so that for example it will be possible to develop a > scientifically grounded theory of molecular biosemiotics.” > > > > Is the crucial point that an expected information content is always > referential to a maximum entropy and therefore a relational concept? The > significance/meaning is thus provided by the redundancy? > > > > I doubt whether this is part of the physics (as you seem to claim). It > follows from the math and is yet content free; in other words, it can be > provided with meaning given any system of reference or, in other words, > discourse. The universality of the claim would thus be based on the > mathematical (dimensionless) character of it. > > > > Best, > > Loet > > > > -- Professor Terrence W. Deacon University of California, Berkeley _______________________________________________ Fis mailing list Fis@listas.unizar.es http://listas.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis
