[Fis] Shannonian Mechanics? - Species specific?

[Loet Leydesdorff]

Dear Jerry, 

 

At the risk of being jailed by Pedro, let me point to the beauty of the example:

 

>From a molecular biological perspective, the assertion of “same encoding” of information is contrary to fact.

 

OK: the coding of the information is species specific; both theoretically and empirically. I fully agree. 

But this argument cannot carry the inference that the information (to be coded) is species specific. 

 

If one wishes to define information as “a difference which makes a difference”, reference systems for both differences have to be specified. Differences(1) can make a difference(2) for a system of reference (receiver). The latter system can receive the information and code it, or the information can be discarded as noise. 

 

Noise or probabilistic entropy can be defined as  differences(1) without difference(2). A set of differences(1) can be considered as a probability distribution which is yet meaningless; that is, Shannon-type information. 

 

Distinguishing between the coding (= diff2 operating on diff1) and the coded differences(1) is a condition for analytical clarity. Otherwise, one uses the same word for two different concepts and confusion is expected to prevail. The idea that one can reconcile two analytical different concept in a “universal” theory is mistaken.

 

Best,

Loet 

 

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