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“Information is the difference that makes a difference.” Gregory Bateson
Abstract
General systems theorists often refer to matter, energy and information as fundamental categories. The three concepts – matter, energy and information – are related through scientific laws. Matter and energy relations are more thoroughly understood than relations involving information. At the level of data or signal “difference” is suggested as a more elementary term than “information.”
1 Basic Entities and the Relationships Among Them
At least two previous civilizations ventured to define the basic building blocks of the universe. The ancient Greeks believed that the constituents of the universe were earth, air, fire, and water. [Aristotle, 1952] The Chinese believed that the basic elements were metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. [Gao, 1985] Currently physicists emphasize space and time. General systems theorists often speak of matter, energy, and information as fundamental categories. For example James G. Miller’s [1978] living systems theory is based on the idea that cells, organs, organisms, groups, corporations, nations, and supranational organizations all process matter, energy, and information. In biological systems (e.g., cells, organs, and organisms) matter and energy are so closely related that they are often treated as one entity – matter/energy. A social organization such as a corporation processes matter (e.g., by transforming raw materials into finished products), energy (including the fuel and electricity needed to operate machines and heat buildings), and information (e.g., customer orders, advertising messages, and accounting records). Although matter and energy have been the subject of scientific investigation for several hundred years, a scientific conception of information is relatively new. A variety of definitions of information have been proposed. Shannon [1949] defined information as a reduction of uncertainty. Bateson [1972] defined information as "that which changes us" or "the difference that makes a difference." |
A crucial point is that information, unlike matter and energy, is a function of the observer. [von Foerster, 1974] For example, the same message may have different meanings for different people. Although information requires the perception of a difference, the difference will require a matter or energy carrier (e.g., a page in a book or sound waves in air). In addition, cognition requires a nervous system. In 1967 at a panel discussion at the University of Illinois I heard Ross Ashby mention Bremermann’s limit. Bremermann’s limit states a relationship between matter and information. A relationship between matter and energy had been proposed by Einstein [1905]. A connection between energy and information had been described by Szilard [1929]. With a connection established between matter and information, it appeared that the contributions of Einstein, Szilard, and Bremermann imply that matter, energy, and information, on the level of atoms, are related. See Figure 1.
How are these basic categories -- matter, energy, and information -- related? Einstein [1905] presented a relationship between matter and energy: E = mc2. Indeed, physicists now regard matter as another form of energy. Around 1900 Planck [1949] observed that electromagnetic energy is not emitted over a continuous range but rather in bundles or quanta, the energies of which are proportional to the frequency of the radiation. The expression E = h f means that the energy of a photon |
