Hello Jonathan,
Big thanks for the very valuable for me to comment and an invitation to read your essay. Yes, indeed, we are going to close on close paths in the same spirit in the basic strategy of Descartes's method of doubt.
I note to myself seen me your important tetrad "points" of thinking about the way to the fundamental structure of reality and the phenomenon of information and its nature:
«Perhaps to catch the universe as form and information at play, we need to see reality as a play. Information as author, forces as director, and objects as actors may be the metaphor we seek. A case can be made, that information is a template for substantial forms, and that objects are a collection of forms (sub-atomic particles, atoms ...) comprised mainly of information and energy - as the prima materia - without which there would be no substance. »
A great metaphor! I use the metaphor of a "network" to catch the "Proteus of nature" (matter) with a hint of goddess forms - Eydotei.
«Patterns of form and formation dance on the stage of the universe, and the dance unfolds for all to behold, but there are always choices of what to focus upon.»
Yes, it is "focusing" - a key concept in the way of grasping the nature of the information and the basic structure of the being (original form) .
«Actors on the Stage need Direction»
"Direction" - the second most important concept. I use a "vector" (in Latin, "bearing", he "who is" and "carrier"). And then move on to the concept of "vector of consciousness" (connecting the Cartesian "res cogitans» and «res extensa» t hrough the "state vector" of physics)
«The reader is reminded that in the 'analog vs. digital 'debate; the author took a stand that the universe is decidedly both analog and digital, if we consider all pertinent aspects of reality. »
I totally agree.
«That is; there is a deficiency to a strictly binary analogy, which can only be overcome by perceiving reality as ternary and the unifying quality as fluid.»
I totally agree. So I build the fundamental generating structure based on the logic of the triunity, developing the ideas of dialectics of Cusa (coincidence of opposites), and Hegel (Hegelian triad), the ideas of Plato (the Platonic solids), and Kant - the idea of a conceptual-figure synthesis.
«There is always an interplay between information becoming stuff, and stuff becoming information, but this takes place on various levels at once.»
I totally agree.
«Just as our universe clearly displays both Quantum and Classical behaviors and attributes, we also reside in a universe where neither" It from Bit "nor" Bit from It "can be ruled out, as both aspects are clearly displayed.»
I totally agree.
«It appears that Plato was right, on some level, in positing the existence of archetypes of form which exist independent of material reality, because certain regularities of Math have a life of their own, and influence or shape the laws of Physics.»
I totally agree. Moreover, it is necessary to see and draw the shape of the "First Law" in the spirit of Plato. The concept of "vector" is a good helper.
«The principles and objects of Mathematics have a regularity of form that is independent of the method used to elucidate that form, and are therefore properly seen as discovered rather than invented.»
I totally agree. We must look for the first forms of life-archetypes and draw them. Here Alexander Zenkin rights in the article "Science counterrevolution in mathematics":
«The truth should be drawn with the help of the cognitive computer visualization technology and should be presented to" an unlimited circle "of spectators in the form of color-musical cognitive images of its immanent essence.» Http://www.ccas. ru/alexzen/papers/ng-02/contr_rev.htm
«The progression of knowledge in Physics and the evolution of form in the Cosmos are both playful processes of discovery revealing the underlying archetypal information in a pre-determined range of possibilities there to be explored, and creating new ones. On some level, both the universe and human scientists learn what is real by exploring the extent of what is possible, and seeing what structures are the most useful and helpful for understanding or for creating something new. »
I totally agree. The idea of "creationists" and "emergent" must be entered into the base of the physical world. It forces us to make "information" and "information revolution."
«While form clearly exists in discrete units like sub-atomic particles, photons, atoms, and molecules, and some observable information is transmitted in a discrete spectrum, this can demonstrably arise from forces and interactions that display a continuous range of variability. This makes terms like 'It' and 'Bit' too confining to tell the whole story, because they presume that all of reality can be described and determined by discrete relations. As I stated in a previous essay; I think that both discrete and continuous aspects of reality must be simultaneously accepted as real, to understand the universe as it is.»
It is extremely important conclusion. It is necessary to think the universe as a whole. "Opposites" (discrete and continuum) - at the bottom picture of the world (Universe).
«If we allow that there can be a continuous flow between information giving rise to form and form giving rise to information, a clearer picture will emerge.»
Totally agree, and this picture of physicists (and lyrics) to draw. As it drew Plato, Cusa, Hegel.
«So it really is not about" It from Bit or Bit from It? "But more a matter of" What is coming out of 'It' into the realm of 'Bit,' and what is coming out of 'Bit' into the realm of 'It?' "In my view, Physics should admit the possibility for unobserved realities that serve to generate what is observed, but must focus primarily on what is in the realm of the observable. This means that ultimately; all we have to work with is information. In some sense; information is both the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.»
I totally agree. It is in the spirit of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ("The Phenomenon of Man). Moreover, the "grasp" the nature of information leads to the concept of "ontological (structural) memory» - memory of the Universe (Cosmos- "cosmic memory "). The concept "ontological memory" must enter the physical world as the core.
«While it is quite clear that information of some nature does give rise to the universe of form, thus fulfilling Wheeler's vision of "It from Bit," this does not prevent "Bit from It" modalities from unfolding at the same time. So indeed they are both true outlooks, but the meaning of the story can only be seen by considering the interplay of the two - a Cosmic Dance.»
The perfect conclusion! We physicists and poets should be one full of meaning, the picture of the world, as in the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3ho31QhjsY
With best regards,
Vladimir