Select Page

Beyond Matter and Energy: Why Information is a Fundamental Property of the Universe (Part 6)

Written by Jeff Drake
12 · 12 · 24

I think it’s safe to say that generally, science is all about discovery, gaining knowledge, an attempt by humans to uncover the fundamental principles, the building blocks that comprise the world we live in as well as the organizing rules that govern reality. That’s a mouthful, but then hey, it’s a big job!

While scientists keep digging deeper into matter, energy, and the quantum realm, they are not only seeking to identify the fundamental physical components of our world like atoms or particles, they also seek to understand how these components interact, how they behave, and how they give rise to the complex systems we observe around us.

One result of all this scientific effort is that for most of history humanity has come to understand the universe in terms of two fundamental components: matter and energy. Ancient philosophers contemplated the nature of matter, imagining it as elemental, as in earth, water, fire, and air. Fast forward a few thousand years, and science refined this perspective into what we now know as atoms, forces, and the elegant equations of physics. Cool! But in recent decades, a new idea has been gaining traction, one that says there is another fundamental component of reality other than matter or energy – information. Yes, I said information. You see, it turns out that information is not just something we use to describe what we had for breakfast or celestial mechanics. Nope. It now seems that Information might be just as fundamental as matter and energy!

I said that information “might be just as fundamental,” which means that the question, “Is information fundamental?” is still an open question i.e., we don’t know for sure. but more scientists, including a number of biologists, are beginning to lean into this concept. And I  am personally leaning into it myself! It resonates to me.

You may be thinking, “Who cares?” or “Why is this question worth investigating?” My response to this is that we should all care about the answer to this question. Because, if information is truly fundamental, this discovery will transform how we understand everything from the origins of the cosmos to the nature of life, and consciousness. This post will explore the evidence for this claim and why it matters for science and philosophy alike. Let me set the stage for this discussion.

What is Information?

If I were to ask you, “What is information?” chances are you would picture words on a page, numbers in a spreadsheet, or the data stored on a hard drive. Right? While it’s true that these are types of information, there is more to the story. You see, information, in its most basic sense, is all about patterns and structure. Information is the difference, if you will, between randomness and order – like a well-written paragraph compared to gibberish.

But here’s where it gets even more fascinating: Information doesn’t have to be written down or stored digitally to exist. That’s right. Think about the spiral structure of a galaxy, the arrangement of atoms in a molecule, or the genetic code contained in DNA. What do they have in common? Well, these are all examples of information expressed as patterns – patterns that define the behavior and organization of systems. Let me explain:

  • The spiral structure of a galaxy gives us more than a pretty picture. It also gives us information about the dynamics of the stars it contains, the influence of gravity upon it, and the conditions under which the galaxy formed. This information helps astronomers understand not just the galaxy itself, but also the larger-scale processes shaping the universe.
  • The arrangement of atoms in a molecule provides us information in the form of a blueprint for its chemical properties and reactions. The atomic arrangement tells us how that molecule will interact with others, whether it’s forming a drop of water or enabling life-sustaining processes in cells.
  • The genetic code in our DNA carries the information i.e., the instructions,  for building and maintaining all living organisms. DNA is a veritable storage system for biological information, detailing everything from physical traits to metabolic functions. I, for one, am not surprised that so many biologists are in the “information is fundamental” camp!

Think of these patterns as nature’s “instruction manuals.” Just like a recipe in a cookbook tells you how to combine ingredients to bake a cake, these natural patterns tell us how components of the universe behave and interact to create the complexity we see around us. Without these instructions, the universe would be a chaotic jumble, lacking the structures and processes that make galaxies, molecules, and life possible.

So, in this broader sense, information is a fundamental aspect of reality itself—not just something humans invented to catalog our world.

Here’s a cautionary note to keep in mind: When considering the idea of information as a fundamental property of the universe, try to avoid the trap of equating information solely with “data.” It’s helpful to remember that data is merely one form of information. Whereas data requires interpretation and context to be meaningful, information exists wherever there is structure or order that conveys something meaningful—be it in nature, technology, or even human thought. Information is the blueprint behind the patterns we observe, whether that’s in the microscopic intricacy of a single cell or the vast complexity of the cosmos.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I discussed information without mentioning Claude Shannon. He is the Bell Labs scientist who is considered to be the “father of information theory.” Claude was an extremely bright scientist who did us no favors by calling his theory a theory of information. His focus was entirely on how information can be encoded and transmitted safely and securely. Thus, he really created a “communications theory,” not a theory of information. While his groundbreaking work laid the foundation for modern communications technologies, the misuse of terms has led to a lot of unnecessary confusion. For example, Shannon identified information as a “measurable quantity,” which allowed him to create a theory that led to the data encryption we use today. But he also described information as the reduction of uncertainty. For example, Shannon would say that in a coin flip there’s uncertainty about whether it will land heads or tails. And if someone tells you the result, they’ve given you information that removes that uncertainty. Thus, to Shannon the more vague and uncertain something is, the more information it contains! This is kind of a Bizzarro World interpretation of information.

It makes much more sense to think of information as the patterns and structures that bring order to the universe. While Shannon’s work was groundbreaking and remains vital to communication technology, it’s only one piece of a much larger puzzle.

Information, in this broader sense, isn’t just about resolving uncertainty—it’s about the blueprints that organize matter and energy, from the intricate geometry of a snowflake to the spiral arms of a galaxy. This richer understanding allows us to see information not just as a tool for communication, but as a fundamental aspect of reality itself, shaping everything we observe and experience. In each case, information provides the blueprint or framework that enables complexity and order.

The following thoughts will hopefully provide more impetus for you to consider information as fundamental.

Information in Physical Systems

For those of you in the frozen north, this exercise will be easy – imagine you’re looking at a snowflake. LOL! Did you know that its intricate, symmetrical structure is not entirely random? Granted, the initial conditions for the snowflake, like the location and size of the dust particle that formed the nucleus for condensation, were random, but the shape of the snowflake was governed by the laws of physics, specifically, the temperature, humidity, and molecular properties of water. Thus, the snowflake’s shape is determined by these factors, just as your DNA encodes the instructions for building and maintaining your body.

I like to think of this as nature’s invitation to see the laws of physics as more than a set of abstract principles and see these laws instead as a kind of “information blueprint” that dictates how matter and energy interact. If you really think about it, these examples hint at a deeper truth: that information itself organizes matter and energy into the complex forms we observe. Scientists have discovered that this principle holds true at every scale: from the arrangement of atoms in a crystal to the orbits of planets in a solar system, patterns emerge that follow specific rules—rules that can be described as information.

The “It from Bit” Hypothesis

Physicist John Archibald Wheeler proposed a provocative idea he called “It from Bit.” Wheeler suggested that every “it;” that is, every particle, field, and event in the universe—ultimately derives from “bit”—a binary unit of information. In this view, the universe at its core is made of information, and what we perceive as matter and energy are just manifestations of this underlying reality.

To make this more relatable, think of a video game. In a game, the trees, rivers, and mountains you see are not made of actual wood, water, or rock. They’re generated by computer code—strings of binary information (1s and 0s). Wheeler’s hypothesis suggests something similar might be true for our universe. If this sounds like that movie, “The Matrix,” you’re not wrong, as there is definitely some similarity.

The idea that the universe fundamentally consists of information aligns with an important principle in physics, something called the conservation of information. This principle suggests that information about a system, any system, is never lost, even when that system is transformed or even destroyed. Thus, the concept of information being fundamental and this principle that information is never destroyed, share an emphasis on the persistence and organizational power of information in the universe. Scientists believe that information about a system’s initial state can never be truly lost, even as matter and energy transform. This principle is rooted in quantum mechanics, where the equations that describe the evolution of systems are reversible, meaning the past states of a system can, in theory, always be reconstructed.

If information truly underpins everything, then its conservation becomes a necessity for maintaining the coherence and order of the universe. Without it, the structured complexity of reality—galaxies, molecules, life—would unravel into chaos.

Black Holes: A Case Study

Black holes offer a fascinating case study here and offer us one of the most compelling pieces of evidence for the fundamental role of information. Initially, black holes caused scientists some consternation because they appeared to violate the conservation of information, which is a critical component of quantum mechanics. In some ways this was a direct challenge to theoretical physics.

To address this situation, scientists had to come up with a sensible alternative, so that’s what they did.  It goes like this: Although it’s true that all matter and energy are absorbed by a black hole, something weird happens during this process (as if black holes weren’t strange enough already) – the structure, composition, and properties of whatever object fell into the black hole don’t just disappear! Instead, physicists hypothesize that this information is instead somehow encoded in a two-dimensional form at the black hole’s boundary, within that thing called the event horizon. This hypothesis is now known as the holographic principle. It supports the notion that information is not only fundamental but also conserved even in the most extreme scenarios. This insight has further led to the mind-bending idea that the universe itself might store information in a holographic way, where three-dimensional objects are fundamentally encoded on two-dimensional surfaces.

Information and Life

It may be hard to believe, but life itself is an extraordinary example of the power of information. Why? Because DNA, the molecule at the heart of biology, is both a storage device for information and an embodiment of that information. It encodes the instructions for building proteins, which in turn construct cells, tissues, and entire organisms. These instructions are not simply data stored passively; they actively participate in the processes that sustain life. DNA’s sequences dictate the timing, location, and function of biological activities, making it a dynamic interplay of information and action.

When someone says that DNA is information, they mean that it embodies the blueprint for life itself. Its sequences are not just storage units but active contributors to the order and complexity of living systems. At the same time, DNA’s physical structure provides the stability and resilience necessary for preserving this information across generations. This duality—DNA as both storage medium and active information—highlights the profound role information plays in the emergence and maintenance of life. Without information, there would be no way to distinguish a living cell from a lifeless pile of molecules.

Why This Matters

Seeing information as a fundamental property of the universe isn’t just a philosophical curiosity; it has profound implications for how we understand reality. It challenges us to rethink the nature of existence, shifting the focus from “what” the universe is made of to “how” it is organized. If information is fundamental, then everything we see and experience might be just the tip of a much deeper informational iceberg.

This perspective also opens up new avenues for science. Could we develop technologies that directly manipulate the information underlying physical systems? Could this be the key to understanding consciousness, which some researchers believe is rooted in the brain’s ability to process information? Inquiring minds want to know!

Closing Thoughts

The idea that information is a fundamental property of the universe invites us to look beneath the tangible covers of the universe and stare deeply into the very patterns that weave the cosmos together. It’s a reminder that the universe is not just a collection of particles and forces, that it is also a story, written in the language of information, waiting to be understood.

So, the next time you marvel at a snowflake, gaze at the stars, or even read an insightful blog post, consider this: what you’re experiencing isn’t just matter or energy. It’s information—the invisible thread that holds the universe together.

Author

Jeff Drake

Retired IT consultant, world-traveler, hobby photographer, and philosopher.

Let us know what you think…

Comments

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.