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"Challenges
on science and humanities for cognitive anticipation” . INFORMATION , KNOWLEDGE, EVOLUTION. By Paolo Manzelli – EGOCREANET/ON-NS c/o Florence University <LRE@UNIFI.IT>
Premise: written for the seminar -14 dicembre 2005 - c/o ENEA-CASACCIA –Rome (°)
on the issue “The strategy
for overwhelm vulnerability of Science Communication in trandisciplinary
projects” . Energy and matter are considered to be basic universal quantities. However, the concept of information has become today just as fundamental entity , and a great work is made to justifying its categorisation as the third fundamental quantity of real world thus because “Information” in fact is one of the intrinsic characteristics of life. Information in the Knowledge Society advancement is related at every turn, both in technological and in natural systems: in data processing, in communications engineering, in control engineering, in the natural languages, in biological communications systems, and in information processes in living cells. Thus, information has rightly become known as the third basic universal quantity. But till to day the concept of “Information” requires a fundamental science & Society dialog open to a very large reflection , particularly with regard to its definition, and understanding of its basic characteristic features and functions aiming to establish a coherent empirical and theoretical principles for advancing in life sciences contemporary development. Therefore is a very important need to understand what means “Information” because today a scientific approach in a more clear understanding of Information , is a critical milestone in the passage to overcome the industrial society and to enhance the European Knowledge Society.
The “Open Network for New Science” , initially supported by EGOCREANET < www.egocreanet.it >, would be develop a cognitive science research to improve evolutionary innovative models of cultural and biological traits based on an intelligent co-evolution between man and environment . The idea is based on developing creativity on science conceptualization aiming to avoid the common misconception about the meaning of Information”. This because the previous related conceptions of Information are based on the tradition of the classical mechanical science understanding, and today is becoming evident that classical understanding of Information is different in Quantum Mechanics. To avoid so different approach in science about the conceptualization of Information, is becoming clear the necessity to sweep away the conceptual limits of the mechanical science and to reply to the need to a better understanding of communication of information in the context of Living Sciences on the basis of an integration on the Physics and Chemical Sciences. .
Quantity versus Quality of Information : rich and poor effective Information Contents
STATE OF THE ART OF INFORMATION IN SCIENCE UNDERSTANTING
Conceptual confusion are often hidden in the change of scientific knowledge from classical mechenics to quantum mechanics , and without a precise attention it is easy to make confusion between the normal language of understanding the qualitative meaning of information as in respect to the quantitative approach in the interpretation of information in mechanical science understanding.
So that looking for a better management of science and technology in Knowledge Society, certainly this confusion can be a source of vulnerability in science as well as in society and this misunderstanding can be possible to observe from the following synthetic, Cross-disciplinary State of the Art focused on the concept of Information in Science .
-Classical Physic is based on a exact dichotomy between Observer and Observation generating a conceptual split between : .
a)-
SUBJECT(ivity),
equivalent with: Continuity, Globality, Future, Possibility,
Teleological Order. Up to the present, we can see in the physics books an image of an “ de-brained-eye” , representing an absolute observer that see the external world in a way that the “de-brained- eye” just does not have limits to see , because is not a real eye of a man , but the symbol of an arbitrary separation between Subject and Object of Classic Physics. This reductionism therefore involves the negation of an objective limits of the observer based on an effective possibility to know of an effective human brain capability, so that the “de-brained -eye” cannot be really conscious and responsible on that he/she thinks to see. Norbert Wiener, the founder of cybernetics and information theory, in agreement to this traditional quoted statement of Classical Physic, agree to this splitting between Object and Subject of scientific observation , because he will look to interpret the mechanical feedback of cybernetics equipments and so that said < Information cannot be of a physical nature : Information is information, neither matter nor energy. No materialism that fails to take account of this can survive the present day > The successive work of Claude Shannon (1948) , about ‘A Mathematical Theory of Communication’, was influenced by the previous conceptual approach of N. Wiener . As a matter of facts also Shannon works in computer science to found its better applications, aiming to show how many information would be needed to obtain an efficiently correct result, when a message, expressed by numerical symbols, was transmitted on a noisy channel to a receiver. Certainly a source of symbols is not related to the source of the meaning of information, so that Shannon prefers to correlate the loss of the quantity of information in the signal transmission, proposing an equivalence to the grow of Entropy in an closed thermodynamic system, so that accepting a simple qualitative confrontation between the following statements : · Ordered energy in a closed system dynamics go versus disorganized energy (heat) · High-quantity of transmitted signals in a closed channel go versus low-grade of information · So that the two process can be interpret by means the same process of understanding focused on the change between order to disorder , hence this change can be quantitatively measured as well as a function of the relationships between probability // improbability of transmission of Bits. In this way “ information conceptualization ” according to Shannon, does not be related to the effective nature of the physical informational data, thus because Information it is confined to one particular aspect of symbols to be able to quantify numerically the data. The above is certainly a good approach, however it is limited to the study of technological transmission and storage of signals where it is useful the analogy between Entropy and Information. Thus Information like Entropy becomes a measure of the probability of an event. After the Shannon’ theory of Information becomes a measure of the probability of any event through an extension of the Shannon's work that has found application not only in computer science, and in communication engineering, but also was applied in biological information systems including nucleic acid and protein coding, and hormonal and metabolic signalling, and also was extended in several applications in linguistics, phonetics, cognitive psychology, and cryptography. Certainly to avoid fundamental confusion to all those application of Shannon’s concept of Information it is necessary to underline that it is confined to a non-semantic aspect, this because in principle also Shannon accepts the classical splitting between subject and object of classical mechanics. .Hence to avoid conceptual confusion in cross-disciplinary sciences it is necessary to underline the following important consideration: utilizing the Shannon’s relationship among information \ uncertainty and entropy , it is important to remember that the numerical value of information become exactly the same , whether these messages are determined by random sequences or by means grammatically ordered sentences with a meaningful value of concrete understanding of information .. As a matter of facts a source of symbols (Bits or Letters) is not a source of physical information .. In fact it will be essential to keep in mind very clearly that the meaning of the messages goes beyond the scope of “information theory” that is only useful when the information signals comes from (transmitter) to a receiver (receiver). This need to be exactly understood to avoid to get out a vulnerable difficulty of sharing ideas when a trans-disciplinary network in Sciences and Humanities is working in a team aiming to keep away from conceptual confusion between the LOST OF SIGNALS in a Computer transmission and the LOST of PHISICAL MEANING OF INFORMATION. in the normal life
ADVANCEMENT IN UNDERSTANDING LIFE SCIENCES
Information is a necessary conditions for Life but if we think again to follow the Shannon’s approach to the theory of information certainly it will be no possible to reply to the question if INFORMATION is a PHYSICAL or MENTAL QUALITY ? So that nowadays for advancing in science remains to replay also to the following questions: What means Information communication ? what is the origin of Information ? The above questions are scientific doubts , that it is becoming a need to resolve in the modern biology This because for instance till now the application of the statistical information approach permits only to know that DNA can be encoded by means of successive triplets of nucleotides These groups of threes are called “Codons”
At this proposal it is useful to remember that the statistical logic to define the “Codons “ was the following: the DNA it is composed by a sequence of 4 nitrogen bases (nucleotides) , composed by two purines, called adenine (A) and guanine (G) and two pyrimidines, called thymine (T) and cytosine (C) , there were 20 amino acids for which those nucleotides can obtain a different codification If given four nucleotides looked at in groups of two, there are sixteen possible combinations (AA, AT, AG, AC, TA, TT, TG, TC, GA, GT, GG, GC, CA, CT, CG, CC); that sixteen is still not enough to code for twenty amino acids. But if the nucleotides code for amino acids in groups of “three “, then there are sixty-four possible combinations . So that is probable that nucleotides code for amino acids in successive groups of threes called Codons
Thinking in this way the DNA code has been deciphered in their quantitative and statistical composition of chemical symbols, but in this way of biological thinking it is no possible to know what can be the effective physical meaning of the codified communication of genetic information , and so the biology is only based on the transfer of the DNA codex Therefore we know for instance that a bacterium has a shorter genetic code of the man; in any case in the logic of biology supposes that each code it gives the same instruction as precisely in bacteria as well as that of a human being. Therefore we do not be able to understand what can be the effective physical meaning of genetic information communication that develop so large differences in simple bacteria and algae as in mouse or in man.This limited result is generated by the confusion from the reality of physical information of chemical nucleotides because the biological approach is simply based on the description of the possible codification sequences of the virtual symbols and not to the properties of chemical transformation of the effective chemical substances co-organizing the DNA. .
Biochemical Reality and Virtual Coding of DNA
Information, science and biology http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v10/i2/information.asp
NEGATIVE INFORMATION in QUANTUM MECHANICS
The Nature of Information in Quantum Mechanics (Q.M.) is founded on the entanglement of the quantum non- separation behaviour between the existence of matter / energy interaction in dual form of waves/particles . The wave equation represents all the possible “chaotic virtual trajectories” of phantom particles , therefore cannot be possible to know nothing about the directly information of the wave Function. So that, although is anti-intuitive to accept to get an information lees than zero, in Q.M. a “Negative Information”, can be carried by the wave-function collapse. generating a quantum jump. through the measure of informational data that it is resolves in terms of probability as a consequence of the basic uncertainty generated by incompatible variables . As a matter of facts in the quantum world, there are things we just cannot completely know; for example, we cannot know exactly both the position and the velocity of a small particle . So that according to Q.M. it is impossible to predict, which set of measurements will be observed as probable data of information .Therefore the conception of taking quantitative measurement of informational data is deeply different from classical physics and Quantum Mechanics. .Primarily this fact is a consequence of the subyect/object interaction during the measurable data of energy/matter information about the micro-world.As a matter of facts the previous considered classical dichotomy between obserer and observation is no more helpful to undestand the concept of information in Q.M. . Seems a paradox that in Q.M ; it is true impossible to obtain positive information. The above is a consequence of the indetermination principle and hence of the double behaviour of the micro-world as Wawes/Particles, so that the probability to find mearurement data, can be obtained only from the delocalized crasch of the Shroedinger wave’s equation. Therefore the information data are coming out only at the exact moment when the operator decide to utilize the apparatus for obtain measurements about the probable information about the existence of particles generated through the collapse of the wave function Henceforth the experimental localized data that are only a result of a probabilistic section of the unknown complete information, virtually contained in the wave function. Hence the time assymetry generated by the suibjective act of the measure produces only a limited (or negative) of information concerning probable physical data. In this way of thinking Q.M. seems to get a very strange approach to “negative information”, and at the same time this approach get a very important knowledge occurring in occur in our minds , because “negative information” is really only what each of us can physically extract from the environmental observation also in the normal living system of sensory perceptions. Thus only exchanging information through communication can be enriched a more complete knowledge .
If something is information , what does this mean in physical terms of energy and matter ? The Principle of Fertile Evolution : an Evolutionary novel Model of Co-evolution.
Quantum Mechanics working to sweep away the arbitrary classical separation between “Subject and Object” admits that from an interference patterns between observer and observed matter can be possible extract “negative information” This result it is important to underline that “Negative Information ”is the only effective reality that we can know as “physical information” about objective particles of energy and matter , extracted by the total and unknown configuration of the wave equation representing the total energy. .Therefore Q.M teach to us that null of that we perceive like reality becomes from isolated mental thinking structure in our brain, and on the contrary no perceived as matter or energy data can be obtained like an objective fallen from the sky!!!! As a matter of facts the mental construction of the real environment need to be perceived through senses , by means of some vibration-energy ,on the basis of an effective subject/object entanglement working in a real brain functioning. Generalising the effective entanglement between subject and object in science understanding , we can consider that fraction of dissipated energy considered by classical thermodynamics as well as a not useful energy for producing work can effectively used for developing new interpretation of the information flows. In fact considering the Law of Energy Conservation ,i.e. Energy would be only transformed in different forms, we can admit the existence of a new form of “Information Energy” that is the energy section necessary for processing and elaborating knowledge at different levels of the natural working functions related to information communication. Some relevant scientific observations can confirm that “Information Energy” is a relevant parameter of life cycle evolution: for instance get a specific value to the introduction of Information Energy the study on the grade of reproductive fertility of living species follows an inverse proportionality with the evolution of brain’s system of living organisms. Moreover looking to the contemporary scientific and technological society we perceive a large amount of observations where the increase of Information correspond to the decrease of matter used in the production of goods in relation to the lower consumes of energy . Then, remembering the principle of the conservation of energy, (i.e., the total energy can be transformed into various forms but is never gained, lost or destroyed it ) would be possible to generalize the above observations taking into account that a part of the energy can be necessary for the widespread work conception , inclusive of the energy necessary for the communication of information. So that we can allow to write the life cycle of the total energy on the basis of three principal components of the Energy transformation i.e. Energy (E) and Matter (M) and Information (I) , in a way to take into account an generalized entanglement of subject /object .Therefore starting from the fundamental law that "energy cannot be created nor destroyed" a logical consequence of this law is that the total energy must be a constant, equal to say one, at any time. Taking into consideration information as a parameter of the general description of the energy-matter transformation (inclusive of brain interactive function), the global differential, (d), of the different aspects of energy, obtained from the sum of the Vibration-Energy, (E), and the codified-energy like Matter (M), and also the Information energy (I) we can easily known the component of total energy, inclusive of the fraction dissipated into the information process of each interaction between transmitters and receptors , must be equal to zero. Because the variation (d) of any constant (K) is equal to zero We can write : <E total = (E) + (M) + (I) = K> ; i.e. at any time < d[ (E) + (M) + (I) ] = 0 > Hence <+d(I) = - d(E) - d(M)> This result is named "PRINCIPLE of FERTILE EVOLUTION" (PFE) On the basis of the “PFE” total working energy cycle , the cognitive innovation can be seen in terms of an evolutionary model of co-evolution of different forms of codified Energy , because the <PFE> effectively gives a possible “direction of evolution” of each developmental interaction in which nature progressively transforms Energy and Matter interactions to grow up an increase the portion of energy linked to the processes of processing of information, + d (EI). Therefore the < PFE > evolutionary model where , Information energy is no more independent from the material that caries it as well as in the previous cognitive organization of Mechanical Science where Information can be seen on the basis of a subjective character like the ascription of statistical codex to biological signals. Certainly it is necessary to admit that till now there is no known natural law through which matter can give rise to information interpreted as a form of energy . In fact mechanical science do not consider any physical process or material phenomenon known that can do this an evolutionary character based on a growing Energy of Information as a transformation developed during the processes Energy/Matter interactivity .A consequence of this lack of Scientific Knowledge, Information was interpreted only as an absolute virtual quantity of subjective character , based on codex description of informational signals to which can be possible to attribute the abstract numerical value for any observer and also in different interactive contexts. Therefore <PFE> statement can be seen as well a new complete vision of Q.M., because represents an emergent evolutionary model where “information is a relative quantity of energy transformation”, and would have different physical values for different species of interaction in relation to an effective communication of energy based on photons and phonons and other quantum-particles. . In conclusion the <PFE> model can be useful for responding to the needs of mental change of the contemporary knowledge driven society. Indeed the <PFE> Model develops an important new conceptions thus because information is not more independent of the physical laws used to store and processes it. Henceforth the <PFE> can open a very large impact in science dialogue because it is strengthening the fact that No biological information can be completely understood by means a purely statistical signal processing of numerical or virtual codex transmission. In other words “Information Energy” introduced as a general component of the Total Energy it is no limited to the Genetic Information but it is spread to all the components of the interactions between Energy and Matter this because we need to admit that Information Energy can be necessary for “ codify /and/ de-codifying” any physical process of Energy/Matter dynamics of interactions. . For instance, focusing in our attention the chemical transformation based by the working potentials of a catalyst activity, it is possible to clarify the effective action of communication of information energy (seen in terms of effective photons and phonons and other wave-particles ) working in oscillating system out side of the thermodynamic equilibrium. Moreover can be possible to overcome the simple analogy used when in biology information receptors are explained in terms of mechanical “key-locks” interaction . This analogical descriptive explanation can be replaced by a new way of thinking, based on the efficient information potential of enzymes for interpreting better the way that permits to control a variable biological reactivity through cellular and intercellular communication of information energy. As a matter of facts till now the and intra cellular communication of information are considered obtainable via not well specified chemical messengers or chemical signals; really those informational signals they are not well defined in terms of any physical character, so that do not become impossible to identify though a new information of energy recognition , the working functions of enzymes, ion channels and molecular carriers etc… etc… Upon those new possibility to innovate the conceptualization of biochemical systems of information recognition, the <PFE> model can be forwarded as a conceptual evolutionary tool for better understanding about the transfer of information between the chemical signal and the change in the bond ligands of receptors opening an innovative approach to interpret the long distance communication between the DNA/RNA and the receptor’s proteins in a new way that will be deeply studied from a new scientific light , throughout a system of biochemical antennas transmitting physical signals into a biochemical flow of chemical changes, forming a complex and wide variety of possible communication interactive pathways directed to different target of biological molecules. In conclusion starting from the above considerations the OPEN NETWORK FOR NEW SCIENCE (ON-NS) (see : www.egocreanet.it) would like to develop a NEST PATH 4 call 2005 with the program titled : "Challenges on science and humanities for cognitive anticipation” , that is becoming with this paper. The main goal of such project proposal will be developed on the basis of new perspectives and approaches of cognitive science, aiming to improve a better cross-disciplinary understanding and predictive capacity of cultural dynamics related to the fundamental cognitive change of science innovation that can be co-ordinating the life science with a very broad range of other emerging themes as well as , intellectual capital improvement in science & society, by means overcoming of cultural fragmentation , and favouring the valorisation of not tangible productivity in the road map of future strengthening the European Integrated Research. I think that the ON-NS - project trans-disciplinary project on the issue: OPEN NETWORK FOR NEW SCIENCE :"Challenges on science and humanities for cognitive anticipation of the future Knowledge Society". can be subdivided in four Sections starting from some the asking questiond about the flowing doubt: <We are sure to posses appropriated knowledge for the change between the Industrial and Knowledge society ???> If not it is becoming a need can search for a new creative pathfinder for developing the OPEN NETWORK FOR NEW SCIENCE and aiming to enhance an open dialog to overcome the limits of management of knowledge integrated to avoid the severe collapse of the Industrial Society. I think also that the “ON-NS “PATFINDER project proposal can be subdivided in 4 principal blocks of conceptual change. a) “KNOWLEDGE” as Sociological Change b) “MIND” - as Psicological/Pedagogical Change c) “INFORMATION” as Scientific Change d) “ WEB-EDITOR” for the dissemination of the Trans-disciplinary knowledge innovation . My best regards Paolo Manzelli 08/DIC/2005 FIRENZE
BIBLIO-ON LINE – WIKIPEDIA Information definitions: : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information The Genetic Code : http://www.emunix.emich.edu/~rwinning/genetics/code.htm Negative Quantum Information : http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/jono/negative-information.html#eshttp://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/jono/negative-information.html Quantum Information Dynamics : http://www.krl.caltech.edu/~adami/quantum.htmlIn the beginning was information http://www.sedin.org/propeng/informat.htm-Information Theory Demystified : http://www.ideacenter.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/1236 Common misconception in information theory http://www.ideacenter.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/1376 PRINCIPLE of FERTILE EVOLUTION : https://www.edscuola.it/archivio/lre/science.htmlChemical bases of biological innovation: https://www.edscuola.it/archivio/lre/chemical_bases.htmLife Science Communication : https://www.edscuola.it/archivio/lre/life_science_communication.htmMENTAL CHANGE (state of the art) : https://www.edscuola.it/archivio/lre/mental/index.html(°) The seminar is organized by :
Adam
Maria Gadomski
<
gadomski_a@casaccia.enea.it>
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