[Fis] Information-as-Process
Ken Herold
kherold at hamilton.edu
Fri Dec 12 14:34:27 CET 2014
Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 127-138 (February 2010) | doi
:10.1038/nrn2787
http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v11/n2/full/nrn2787.html
:) Ken
On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 8:19 AM, Pedro C. Marijuan <
pcmarijuan.iacs at aragon.es> wrote:
>
> Dear Loet, Steven, and colleagues,
>
> During last ten years or so, with particular success in most recent years,
> Karl Friston has developed his free energy optimization principle, based on
> Shannon's information theory and optimal control theory as well as on the
> Bayesian brain hypothesis. I think this is the most advanced work towards a
> unified brain theory today. The minimization dynamics of the cerebral free
> energy construct (it is a sort of Helmoltz program revisited) becomes a
> generative process of perception, action, learning and adaptive behaviors
> in general. The 2010 paper (Nature Reviews Neurosceince, doi:
> 10.138/nrn2787) where he precisely argues about a unified brain theory, is
> quite representative of his proposals. On a personal basis, during last two
> decades I was following and cooperating with Kenneth Paul Collins (we
> published a book in Spanish about the emergence of behavior from brain
> dynamics). Our scheme was based on the minimization of a collective
> variable supposedly a sort of "entropy" of excitation/inhibition ratios
> topologically distributed among neuronal surfaces of the cortex that was
> performed essentially by the medial parts of the brain. Although very rich
> in qualitative and behavioral aspects, the formal part was too weak
> (awfully weak). Until recent years I could not connect meaningfully
> Collin's approach with other works, and unfortunately he left scientific
> research long ago--but now the marriage with Friston's is remarkable.
> Putting them together may be a very fertile exploratory avenue.
>
> best ---Pedro
>
> Loet Leydesdorff wrote:
>
>>
>> Dear Steven and colleagues,
>>
>>
>> I did not (yet) study your approach. Is there a paper that can be read as
>> an introduction?
>>
>>
>> It seems to me that one can distinguish between formal and substantial
>> theories of information. Shannon’s mathematical theory is a formal
>> apparatus: the design and the results do not yet have meaning without an
>> interpretation in a substantial context. On the other side, a theory about,
>> for example, neuro-information is a special theory. One can in this context
>> use information theory as a statistical tool (among other tools).
>> Sometimes, one can move beyond description. J
>>
>>
>> The advantage of information theory, from this perspective of special
>> theories, is that the formal apparatus allows us sometimes to move between
>> domains heuristically. For example, a model of the brain can perhaps be
>> used metaphorically for culture or the economy (or vice versa). The
>> advantages have to be shown in empirical research: which questions can be
>> addressed and which puzzles be solved?
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Loet
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Loet Leydesdorff
>>
>> /Emeritus/ University of Amsterdam
>> Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR)
>>
>> loet at leydesdorff.net <mailto:loet at leydesdorff.net>;
>> http://www.leydesdorff.net/
>> Honorary Professor, SPRU, <http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/>University of
>> Sussex;
>>
>> Guest Professor Zhejiang Univ. <http://www.zju.edu.cn/english/>,
>> Hangzhou; Visiting Professor, ISTIC, <http://www.istic.ac.cn/Eng/
>> brief_en.html>Beijing;
>>
>> Visiting Professor, Birkbeck <http://www.bbk.ac.uk/>, University of
>> London;
>>
>> http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ych9gNYAAAAJ&hl=en <
>> http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ych9gNYAAAAJ&hl=en>
>>
>>
>> *From:* stevenzenith at gmail.com [mailto:stevenzenith at gmail.com] *On
>> Behalf Of *Steven Ericsson-Zenith
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, December 09, 2014 10:13 PM
>> *To:* loet at leydesdorff.net
>> *Cc:* Joseph Brenner; fis
>> *Subject:* Re: [Fis] Information-as-Process
>>
>>
>> The problem with this approach (and approaches like it) is that it is
>> descriptive and not explanatory. The distribution of the shape, in my
>> model, can be described, perhaps, but the process or action decision point
>> and response covariance is impossible to consider.
>>
>> It is for this reason that I use holomorphic functors and hyper-functors
>> in which I can express the explicit role of a base universal (per
>> gravitation).
>>
>>
>> Nor is it clear to me that this is what Joe referred to as "information
>> as process."
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Dec 8, 2014 at 10:20 PM, Loet Leydesdorff <loet at leydesdorff.net
>> <mailto:loet at leydesdorff.net>> wrote:
>>
>> Dear colleagues,
>>
>>
>> Shannon’s information theory can be considered as a calculus
>> because it allows for the dynamic extension. Theil
>> (1972)—Statistical decomposition analysis (North
>> Holland)—distinguished between static and dynamic information
>> measures. In addition to Shannon’s statical H, one can write:
>>
>>
>> mailbox:///C|/Documents%20and%
>> 20Settings/pcmarijuan.iacs/Datos%20de%20programa/
>> Thunderbird/Profiles/2vg9i0k9.default/Mail/pop3.aragon-1.es/
>> Inbox?number=1793468636&header=quotebody&part=1.1.2&filename=image001.png
>>
>>
>> in which
>> mailbox:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/pcmarijuan.iacs/
>> Datos%20de%20programa/Thunderbird/Profiles/2vg9i0k9.default/Mail/
>> pop3.aragon-1.es/Inbox?number=1793468636&header=quotebody&part=1.1.3&
>> filename=image002.pngcan
>> be considered as the a posteriori and
>> mailbox:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/pcmarijuan.iacs/
>> Datos%20de%20programa/Thunderbird/Profiles/2vg9i0k9.default/Mail/
>> pop3.aragon-1.es/Inbox?number=1793468636&header=quotebody&part=1.1.4&
>> filename=image003.pngthe
>> a priori distribution. This dynamic information measure can be
>> decomposed and aggregated. One can also develop measures for
>> systemic developments and critical transitions. In other words,
>> information as a process can also be measured in bits of
>> information. Of course, one can extend the dimensionality (/i/)
>> for the multivariate case (/ijk/…), and thus use information
>> theory for network analysis (including time).
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Loet
>>
>>
>> References:
>>
>> · Leydesdorff, L. (1991). The Static and Dynamic Analysis
>> of Network Data Using Information Theory. /Social Networks,
>> 13/(4), 301-345.
>>
>> · Theil, H. (1972). /Statistical Decomposition Analysis/.
>> Amsterdam/ London: North-Holland.
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> ------------
>>
>> Loet Leydesdorff
>>
>> /Emeritus/ University of Amsterdam
>> Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR)
>>
>> loet at leydesdorff.net <mailto:loet at leydesdorff.net>;
>> http://www.leydesdorff.net/
>> Honorary Professor, SPRU,
>> <http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/>University of Sussex;
>>
>> Guest Professor Zhejiang Univ. <http://www.zju.edu.cn/english/>,
>> Hangzhou; Visiting Professor, ISTIC,
>> <http://www.istic.ac.cn/Eng/brief_en.html>Beijing;
>>
>> Visiting Professor, Birkbeck <http://www.bbk.ac.uk/>, University
>> of London;
>>
>> http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ych9gNYAAAAJ&hl=en
>> <http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ych9gNYAAAAJ&hl=en>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Fis [mailto:fis-bounces at listas.unizar.es
>> <mailto:fis-bounces at listas.unizar.es>] *On Behalf Of *Steven
>> Ericsson-Zenith
>> *Sent:* Monday, December 08, 2014 10:22 PM
>> *To:* Joseph Brenner
>> *Cc:* fis
>> *Subject:* Re: [Fis] Information-as-Process
>>
>>
>> I am a little mystified by your assertion of "information as
>> process." What, exactly, is this and how does it differ fro
>> information in general (Shannon). Is it related to Whitehead's
>> process notions?
>>
>>
>> In terms of neuroscience it is important to move away from
>> connectionism and modern computational ideas I believe. It is not
>> clear to me how information theory can be applied to the operation
>> of the brain at the synaptic level because the actions and the
>> decisions made are made across the structure and not at a single
>> location.
>>
>> Recognition, for example, is not a point event but occurs rather
>> when a particular shape is formed in the structure (of the CNS,
>> for example) and is immediately covariant with the "appropriate"
>> response (another shape) which may be characterized as a
>> hyper-functor (which may or may not include neurons and astrocytes
>> in the brain).
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Steven
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> -------------------------------------------------
> Pedro C. Marijuán
> Grupo de Bioinformación / Bioinformation Group
> Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud
> Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Aragón (CIBA)
> Avda. San Juan Bosco, 13, planta X
> 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
> Tfno. +34 976 71 3526 (& 6818)
> pcmarijuan.iacs at aragon.es
> http://sites.google.com/site/pedrocmarijuan/
> -------------------------------------------------
>
>
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>
--
Ken Herold
Director, Library Information Systems
Hamilton College
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, NY 13323
315-859-4487
kherold at hamilton.edu
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