[Fis] [EXTERNAL] Re: Emotional Contagion? -The Irreality of materialism

[Daniel Boyd]

Hi Howard

Picking up on your mail from last week, it seems that the key point is definitions.

I think it’s rather ironic that the word ‘information’ is itself uninformative, since it can be used in very different ways. If two people in a discussion are using the term under a different definition then a fruitful dialogue is unlikely. And there are many more than two options to choose from!

Certainly, there are uses of the word in which quantum physics and entropy are relevant, and such definitions appear to be the main topic of this thread.

You and I are using the word in a very different way: that which allows living organisms to behave responsively and adaptively and thus sustain their far from equilibrium states. A definition that lies in the conceptual vicinity of Pierce’s ‘pragmatic information’ and indeed has little or nothing to do with quantum physics or entropy. But one that necessitates more than most other definitions an acknowledgement of an immaterial aspect to reality.

In my opinion this is an equally valid use of the word, but one which presumably requires (and deserves) its own discussion thread. Perhaps you would like to kick off?

All the best

Daniel

From: Howard Bloom <howlbloom at aol.com<mailto:howlbloom at aol.com>>
Sent: 20 March 2025 04:24
To: Louis Kauffman <loukau at gmail.com<mailto:loukau at gmail.com>>; Stuart Kauffman <stukauffman at gmail.com<mailto:stukauffman at gmail.com>>; Sudip Patra <spatra at jgu.edu.in<mailto:spatra at jgu.edu.in>>
Cc: Eric Werner <eric.werner at oarf.org<mailto:eric.werner at oarf.org>>; 1 <ktpeil at outlook.com<mailto:ktpeil at outlook.com>>; Peter Erdi <peter.erdi at kzoo.edu<mailto:peter.erdi at kzoo.edu>>; fis <fis at listas.unizar.es<mailto:fis at listas.unizar.es>>; joe.brenner at bluewin.ch<mailto:joe.brenner at bluewin.ch>; Gordana Dodig Crnkovic <gordana.dodig-crnkovic at chalmers.se<mailto:gordana.dodig-crnkovic at chalmers.se>>; Daniel Boyd <daniel.boyd at live.nl<mailto:daniel.boyd at live.nl>>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: [Fis] Emotional Contagion? -The Irreality of materialism

could i please repeat the definition of information in my book The God Problem: How a Godless Cosmos Creates:

information is anything a receiver can interpret

how do we know if a receiver has interpreted?  by the receiver's response.  unless it's an animal or a human and keeps that response to itself.

two things that are not useful in understanding information, in my opinion, are quantum physics and the entropy equation.

with warmth and oomph—howard

On Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at 10:30:07 PM EDT, Sudip Patra <spatra at jgu.edu.in<mailto:spatra at jgu.edu.in>> wrote:


Also, as it's emerging, in quantum-like cognition literature, there are analogies and subtle differences between quantum and cognitive processes. Both are non Boolean certainly.
But more general frameworks are required.

Regards Sudip


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