There is a scientific debate (eg, arXiv1, arXiv2) on the question what is information? The more you think about information, the more difficult the answer becomes. There is a reason for that. The real question you should ask is why do we need information? My initial thought was transfer of knowledge. This answer also seems to address the what (knowledge) and how (transfer).
The smallest element that stores information is the DNA of human cells. This DNA contains the knowledge about our design. I think, feel and believe that we need that information to create or recreate life. Hence, I tend to conclude that information is any means (how) to store knowledge (what) on Creation (why) like a multiverse, Universe, Nature, and Life as we know it.
An expanding Universe would then be the evidence of growth (= change) to maturity (= order), following initial Creation. Exploding stars would then be evidence of death (= disorder).
Similar to the DNA in “all known living organisms and many viruses“, the Universe must somehow store the knowledge of its own design in order to allow for subsequent Creation.
Sometimes the design (eg, DNA) contains flaws despite its ample mechanisms for internal verification and then creation leads to disorder (eg, cancer).
On 5 December 2016, Stephen Elledge, a Harvard Medical School Professor of Genetics, won the Breakthrough Prize for paradigm-shifting discoveries in the life sciences, physics, and mathematics. Harvard: “One of Elledge’s most pivotal discoveries was unraveling the process by which cells sense DNA damage and initiate self-repair, a critical fail-safe mechanism that safeguards both individual cells and the integrity and health of the entire organism.”
Harvard: “DNA fends off constant damage from various sources, including normal metabolic byproducts, environmental toxins, sunlight, and normal aging. Such assaults can alter DNA’s chemical structure, leaving behind mutations in the cell’s genetic code. If left unrepaired, these alterations can disrupt key biological processes, leading to serious diseases, including cancer.
Harvard: A cell’s failure to sense the presence of aberrations in its DNA can spark cancerous mutations and malignant cell proliferation. Elledge’s work revealed that a “watchdog” protein-enzyme pair sniff out damaged DNA and send a message to the cell’s internal repair machinery to fix the problem. If and when the cell fails to mend its broken DNA, it issues a command to self-destroy. This process, known as cell suicide, or apoptosis, is the body’s way of stemming the proliferation of abnormal cells and preventing cancer.”
The above somehow feels like Nature‘s version of the Blockchain technology to me.
La Vita è Bella (1997) by Noa – artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2
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