There are literally hundreds of "books" on Intelligent Design / Creationism / Origins of life - the universe - everything all attempting to use Shannon's theories as props to hang their arguments on. Its a whole pop culture in the USA which keeps observers like me on other planets highly amused / entertained.
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=xxEchYtFuns&feature=related http://home.mira.net/~reynella/debate/gitt.htm "In the beginning was information" http://lampofdiogenes.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/hello-world/ "In the beginning was the Peanut Butter man" On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 10:17 PM, Owen Densmore <[email protected]> wrote: > > Yet another interesting article from the economist. > > ---- Owen > > > I am an iPad, resistance is futile! > > Begin forwarded message: > > > A QUANTUM CALCULATION > > Apr 22nd 2010 > > > > > > A physicist argues that information is at the root of everything > > > > DECODING REALITY: THE UNIVERSE AS QUANTUM INFORMATION. By Vlatko > > Vedral. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; 256 PAGES; $29.95 AND GBP16.99. Buy > > from Amazon.com[1], Amazon.co.uk[2] > > > > > > ONE of the most elusive goals in modern physics has turned out to be > > the creation of a grand unified theory combining general relativity and > > quantum mechanics, the two pillars of 20th-century physics. General > > relativity deals with gravity and time and space; quantum mechanics > > with the microscopic workings of matter. Both are incredibly successful > > in their own domains, but they are inconsistent with one another. > > > > For decades physicists have tried to put the two together. At the heart > > of the quest lies the question, of what is the universe made? Is it > > atoms of matter, as most people learned in school? Or some sort of > > energy? String theory, currently a popular idea, holds that the > > universe is made up of tiny vibrating strings. Other equally esoteric > > candidates abound. Indeed, cynics claim that there are as many grand > > unified theories as there are theoretical physicists attempting > > unification. > > > > Now Vlatko Vedral, an Oxford physicist, examines the claim that bits of > > information are the universe's basic units, and the universe as a whole > > is a giant quantum computer. He argues that all of reality can be > > explained if readers accept that information is at the root of > > everything. > > > > So what is information? Mr Vedral's notion of information is not the > > somewhat fuzzy concept most people have of it, but a precise > > mathematical definition that owes itself to Claude Shannon, an American > > mathematician considered to be the father of "information theory". > > Shannon worked at Bell Labs, at the time the research arm of AT&T, > > a telephone giant, and in the 1940s became interested in how much > > information could be sent over a noisy telephone connection. This led > > him to calculate that the information content of any event was > > proportional to the logarithm of its inverse probability of occurrence. > > (Unlike many popular-science books that eschew equations, Mr Vedral > > includes a couple and tries his best to explain them to the reader.) > > What does the equation mean? As Mr Vedral points out, it says that an > > unexpected, infrequent event contains much more information than a more > > regular happening. > > > > Once he has defined information, Mr Vedral proceeds to show how > > information theory can be applied to biology, physics, economics, > > sociology and philosophy. These are the most interesting parts of the > > book. Of particular note is the chapter on placing bets. Mr Vedral > > gives a good description of how Shannon's information theory can be > > applied to winning at blackjack or in buying shares (Shannon and his > > friends made fortunes in Las Vegas as well as on the stockmarket). And > > his exposition of climate change and how to outwit the CIA make > > entertaining reading. One quibble: Mr Vedral often digresses from the > > point at hand, so the overall effect tends to be a bit meandering. > > > > Mr Vedral's professional interests lie in quantum computing and quantum > > information science, which use the laws of quantum mechanics > > respectively to build powerful computers and render codes unbreakable. > > There is a lot of discussion of both, which is very welcome because > > there are not many popular science books that cover these relatively > > young fields. Quantum computers, as Mr Vedral points out, "are not a > > distant dream". Though still rudimentary, "they can solve some > > important problems for us that conventional computers cannot." > > > > Unusually for a physicist, Mr Vedral spends a fair bit of time talking > > about religious views, such as how God created the universe. He asks > > whether something can come out of nothing. Throughout the ages > > philosophers and theologians have debated this question with respect to > > Judeo-Christian faiths, in which dogma holds that the world was created > > from the void, CREATION EX NIHILO. Others side with King Lear who tells > > Cordelia that "Nothing can come of nothing." Mr Vedral makes a > > persuasive argument for a third option: information can be created out > > of nothing. > > > > ----- > > [1] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0199237697/theeconomists-20 > > [2] > > http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0199237697/economistshop-21 > > > > See this article with graphics and related items at > http://www.economist.com/culture/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15949137 > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >
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