[Fis] Five Clouds over Fundamental Information Science

Wed Dec 4 12:50:25 CET 2024

Dear Xueshan,

With regard to your question: How should we view CRISPR? Can we consider 
it a form of (genetic) information technology?

Superficial Answer:  It changes the code of the genome by changing the 
molecular sequence.

Deep Answer1: Abstractly it is a way of transforming a genome G1 into a 
different genome G2.  Given the information in the genome has 
developmental meaning, e.g., it is involved in the control of how the 
organism develops, then CRISPR is an operator that transforms the 
developmental meaning (semantics-pragmatics) of the genome by way of its 
interpreter, the cell.

Deep Answer2: The genome can be viewed as a strategy that controls the 
cell-agent in which it is housed. And CRISPR can be used to change the 
cell's control strategy.

Is this understandable? FIS has so many different highly talented 
specialists that much of what we say may be lost in translation.

-Eric

On 12/4/24 8:50 AM, Xueshan Yan wrote:
>
> Dear Marcus,
>
> I apologize for the late reply.
>
> A few years ago, I coined the term "Inforware", which has proven to be 
> very useful in my teaching experience of information science in my 
> university, as my students have found it to be a valuable addition to 
> their vocabulary. Currently, we have approximately 300 different 
> professional informatics or information science, and this term is 
> effective for classifying and distinguishing these subjects.
>
> Also, can you find a single word to simply replace 'inforware' in the 
> sentence 'Communication between Inforwares' in Cloud 4?
>
> Best wishes，
>
> Xueshan
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dear Eric,
>
> Thank you for your comment. Let's work together to advance our 
> understanding of Fundamental Information Science.
>
> Given your personal research experience, I would like to ask: How 
> should we view CRISPR? Can we consider it a form of (genetic) 
> information technology?
>
> Best wishes，
>
> Xueshan
>
> *From:*fis-bounces at listas.unizar.es <fis-bounces at listas.unizar.es> *On 
> Behalf Of *Eric Werner
> *Sent:* Wednesday, December 4, 2024 3:55 AM
> *To:* fis at listas.unizar.es
> *Subject:* Re: [Fis] Five Clouds over Fundamental Information Science
>
> Dear Xueshan,
>
> Thank you for the clear separation of disciplines-themes-clouds! All 
> of fundamental interest and importance. In view of your interests,  
> you might be interested in my theoretical and applies work on 
> communication-cooperation theory for multi-agent systems (part of the 
> birth of distributed AI) and my later modeling of genomes and their 
> role in embryogenesis and cancer -which applied my DAI theories to 
> modeling dynamic, developing multicellular communication systems. This 
> work relates strongly to your themes at the same time showing 
> crossovers.  I welcome further communications from you! My work on 
> meaning was strongly influenced by Wittgenstein, von Neumann's work on 
> game theory and his mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics. So 
> a more logical-philosophical-formal-foundations bent.
>
> -Eric
>
> P.S. Since we have never met and since you have probably have never 
> heard of me, here is some info about me:
>
> BACKGROUND: Dr. Eric Werner has a Ph.D. in logic and is a research 
> scientist with an interdisciplinary focus in distributed artificial 
> intelligence, systems biology, computational embryology, cancer 
> modeling and simulation. He has developed new models and protocols to 
> understand and potentially treat cancer by combining CRISPR genome 
> editing methods with computational cancer modeling and simulation 
> software (cancer-CAD).
> As a founder of Distributed Artificial Intelligence DAI, he worked in 
> some of the world's top research institutes including: The University 
> of Oxford (Balliol College) for 11 years in both the department of 
> computer science and the department of physiology, anatomy and 
> genetics, INRIA in France, CNR in Rome, AAII (Australian Artificial 
> Intelligence Institute, Stanford Research International SRI in 
> Australia), SONY Research Labs in Tokyo, the Distributed Systems 
> Research Group, University of Hamburg where he led a project with 
> staff and students that developed the first four legged "insect" robot 
> in Germany. He was chairman of the department of computer science and 
> Dana Faculty Fellow at Bowdoin College, Maine. He headed robotic 
> software development while professor of computer science at  Montana 
> College of Mineral Science and Technology, Butte, Montana. Dr. Werner 
> was also a lecturer in philosophy and formal logic in Africa at the 
> University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
>
>     Dear colleagues,
>
>     I have summarized five sets of puzzles faced by fundamental
>     information science and called them 'clouds' — some of which have
>     been emphasized by Pedro on many occasions. I am now glade to hear
>     everyone's different opinions.
>
>     **
>
>     Best wishes,
>
>     Xueshan Yan
>
>     Professor Emeritus
>
>     Department of Information Management
>
>     Peking University, China
>
>     **
>
>     **
>
>     **
>
>     *Five Clouds over Fundamental Information Science*
>
>     /Xueshan Yan/
>
>     *Inforware**: Information must exist in signs, and signs must
>     exist on substrates**. We define a trinity composed of
>     information, sign, and substrate as an Inforware.
>
>     *Four Concomitant Disciplines: *Based on the structure of an
>     inforware, we have Informatics for studying information, and
>     Semiotics for studying signs—the existence mode of information.
>     Since communication is the transmission of information and
>     computation is the processing of information, we also have another
>     two fundamental disciplines: Communication Studies and Computation
>     Studies. These four disciplines are concomitant; that is, if one
>     is present, the other three (or more) will eventually emerge.
>
>     *Cloud 1. Information and Meaning*: What is information? Since
>     1948, information scientists have been discussing it for 76 years,
>     yet still cannot provide a definitive answer. What is meaning?
>     Since 1825, linguists have been debating it for 200 years and
>     still cannot reach a definitive conclusion. Nevertheless,
>     linguistics has been established successfully. Let’s consider a
>     hypothesis: if we were to suspend all discussions about the
>     definition of information for three years, what else could we do?
>     From a human perspective, are information and meaning two
>     homogenous issues? Or are they two different expressions of one
>     existence?
>
>     *Cloud 2. Brain Informatics or Animal Informatics*:**It has been
>     demonstrated that any organism with a brain inforware can
>     communicate with others; therefore, brain informatics must exist,
>     —storing, sending, and receiving information are fundamental
>     functions of the brain—, and human informatics already exists.
>     Similarly, we could explore bee informatics, elephant informatics,
>     and so on. Can we assume that there are as many types of animal
>     informatics as there are animal species?
>
>     *Cloud 3. Genetics as a Discipline of Informatics:*Cells can
>     communicate. The central dogma of molecular biology describes the
>     pathway of DNA→RNA→protein, through which genetic information
>     flows. In this process, DNA serves as substrate, bases function as
>     signs, and genomics represents informatics. If we propose that
>     genetics is the most successful branch of informatics, what would
>     be the response from biologists? Could a similar phenomenon also
>     be observed in neuroscience and endocrinology?
>
>     *Cloud 4. Communication between Inforwares*: Some speculate that
>     two supramolecules can communicate with each other. But can two
>     ordinary molecules communicate? Can two atoms communicate? Can two
>     celestial bodies communicate? Can plants communicate with one
>     another? Can different inforwares communicate across different
>     levels? Is the communication between humans and cats true
>     communication (language comprehension) or false communication
>     (conditional reflex)?
>
>     *Cloud 5. Exploration of Fundamental Information Science*: Can we
>     regard fundamental information science as an exploration based on
>     the inductive method, focusing on the commonalities among various
>     fundamental information disciplines, especially the four
>     concomitant disciplines mentioned above? The complexity and
>     enormity of this venture have far exceeded anyone's imagination.
>     Is it one of the most challenging disciplines to study in
>     contemporary times? Or, does it not exist at all?
>
>     ---------------------
>
>     /*Any discipline has its own concept framework, which is why I
>     coined the new term *Inforware*. For example, the computer science
>     is built on the two primary concepts of hardware and software./
>
>     */**Studies focused solely on substrates typically fall under the
>     technical or natural sciences rather than information science./*
>
>
>
>     _______________________________________________
>
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>
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>
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>
>     ----------
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> -- 
> /Dr. Eric Werner, FLS
> Oxford Advanced Research Foundation
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> /
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/Dr. Eric Werner, FLS
Oxford Advanced Research Foundation
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