Information Theory
The mathematical study of information reveals its fundamental role in physics, biology, and the structure of reality—suggesting that mind and meaning are woven into the fabric of existence.
Information in Physics
Modern physics increasingly treats information as fundamental—perhaps more fundamental than matter and energy. Wheeler's 'it from bit' hypothesis suggests that physical reality emerges from information.
Quantum mechanics is fundamentally about information. The wave function encodes information about possible outcomes. Measurement is information acquisition. Entanglement is information correlation. The universe may be, at bottom, an information-processing system.
- It from Bit: Wheeler's hypothesis: every physical quantity derives its meaning from information. 'Every it—every particle, every field of force—derives its function from bits.' Reality is informational.
- Black Hole Information: The black hole information paradox suggests information is conserved—never destroyed. Hawking eventually conceded that information escapes black holes. Information is fundamental.
- Quantum Information: Quantum mechanics is fundamentally about information—qubits, superposition, entanglement. Quantum computing exploits information properties that have no classical analog.
- Holographic Principle: The holographic principle suggests that the information content of a region is encoded on its boundary. The universe may be a hologram—information projected from a lower-dimensional surface.
Information and the Logos
If information is fundamental, this supports a theistic worldview. Information requires minds to generate and interpret. Meaning doesn't arise from meaningless matter.
The Christian concept of the Logos—the Word through which all things were made—resonates with information-theoretic physics. The universe is structured by information, by rational order, by meaning. This is exactly what we would expect if reality originates in a divine Mind.
- Mind-First Ontology: Information requires minds to generate and interpret. If information is fundamental, mind is fundamental. This inverts the materialist assumption that matter is primary.
- The Logos: The universe is structured by information—the 'Word' that orders reality. 'In the beginning was the Word' takes on new meaning in an information-theoretic cosmos.
- Design Signature: Specified information in biology points to intelligent origin. DNA contains not just Shannon information but semantic information—meaningful instructions. This is the hallmark of mind.
- Convergent Evidence: Physics, biology, and philosophy converge on the primacy of information. This convergence—from independent disciplines—strengthens the case for a mind-first ontology.