Difference between revisions of "TFNR - Classical Information"
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| − | From every page of this work emerges '''the need to abandon determinism | + | From every page of this work emerges '''the need to abandon determinism — especially radical determinism, which is also realism in a reductive sense''': the idea that chance does not exist, that God does not play dice. I, on the contrary, think that Reality emerges from chaos, and that it evolves toward increasingly higher levels of organization, where '''chance gradually gives way — at least partially — to certainty'''. And further, that under the right conditions this interplay of mixed processes, stochastic and deterministic at the same time, may lead to the emergence of purpose, of finality. The process by which Reality emerges from chaos and becomes structured into increasingly broad and articulated levels of growing complexity is the Process of Formation of Reality, the backbone of the model proposed here. |
| − | ''' | + | Therefore, even though the idea that chance does not lie at the foundation of Physical Reality cannot be considered correct, '''the opposite is not true either — that everything is chaos, and that everything must be expressed in probabilistic terms'''. In an extreme interpretation of indeterminism or probabilism, one might believe that order is an illusion. Instead, Reality is incessantly formed in the tension between chaos and order — in chaos–order processes expressed as dynamic disequilibria around peaks of organized complexity. Determinism and indeterminism are not opposed. '''Indeterminism contains determinism as a special case, a limit case, an approximation, an image seen from afar'''. |
| − | The processes that characterize | + | The processes that characterize deterministic dynamic systems — the systems of classical physics — are precisely '''deterministic processes in which the physical quantities involved can be determined with arbitrary certainty'''. It is true that classical systems may exhibit chaos, but this chaos arises from the complexity of the system and the relations among its parts (deterministic chaos, chaotic attractors). '''This chaos is not ontological'''; it does not concern the fundamental nature of Reality, as happens in quantum phenomena, intrinsically indeterministic. |
| − | Therefore, '''Classical Information | + | Therefore, '''Classical Information is a subset, a particular case of Quantum Information'''. Or better, both are evolutionary stages of the Formation of Reality — phases that coexist in nested levels of Reality. '''Classical Information is a "certain" cherry on an immense and underground "uncertain" cake: Quantum Information'''. But the whole cake, if we want to describe it in depth, can only be described by Processes that are, at the same time, indeterministic (probabilistic, stochastic) and deterministic (classical), and all the shades in between. |
| − | '''The two components | + | '''The two components have different weights and dynamics depending on the scale of analysis'''. The movement of an electron in an atom, or of a quark in a nucleon, is dominated by indeterministic dynamics; the motion of a galactic bubble in a cluster of galaxies, or even the position of the Moon relative to the Earth, is dominated by deterministic dynamics. It depends on what we want to do. If we measure the distance of the Moon with a precision of one tenth of a proton diameter, the indeterministic component will be present, but negligible. Moreover, the position, motion, speed, acceleration, size of the Moon and Earth, and the extension and shape of Space‑time in which they are immersed, are in constant fluctuation. |
| − | '''In short, it is | + | '''In short, it is a matter of perspective, of desired or necessary precision'''. What we call Classical Information, even when not affected by deterministic chaotic components, is always an approximation — in a certain sense an illusion — that chaos does not exist. And yet chaos is always there, in the factory of Reality, at the most elementary level: ontological chaos. If we do not see it, it is because we do not want to see it (we regard it as a disturbance), or because we are looking from afar and the resolution of our eyes — or of our instruments — is insufficient. Approximation or illusion, or both. In many situations it is useful and comfortable to reason about Physical Reality without this uncomfortable inconvenience: chaos, uncertainty, indeterminacy. |
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Latest revision as of 19:33, 13 August 2026
From every page of this work emerges the need to abandon determinism — especially radical determinism, which is also realism in a reductive sense: the idea that chance does not exist, that God does not play dice. I, on the contrary, think that Reality emerges from chaos, and that it evolves toward increasingly higher levels of organization, where chance gradually gives way — at least partially — to certainty. And further, that under the right conditions this interplay of mixed processes, stochastic and deterministic at the same time, may lead to the emergence of purpose, of finality. The process by which Reality emerges from chaos and becomes structured into increasingly broad and articulated levels of growing complexity is the Process of Formation of Reality, the backbone of the model proposed here.
Therefore, even though the idea that chance does not lie at the foundation of Physical Reality cannot be considered correct, the opposite is not true either — that everything is chaos, and that everything must be expressed in probabilistic terms. In an extreme interpretation of indeterminism or probabilism, one might believe that order is an illusion. Instead, Reality is incessantly formed in the tension between chaos and order — in chaos–order processes expressed as dynamic disequilibria around peaks of organized complexity. Determinism and indeterminism are not opposed. Indeterminism contains determinism as a special case, a limit case, an approximation, an image seen from afar.
The processes that characterize deterministic dynamic systems — the systems of classical physics — are precisely deterministic processes in which the physical quantities involved can be determined with arbitrary certainty. It is true that classical systems may exhibit chaos, but this chaos arises from the complexity of the system and the relations among its parts (deterministic chaos, chaotic attractors). This chaos is not ontological; it does not concern the fundamental nature of Reality, as happens in quantum phenomena, intrinsically indeterministic.
Therefore, Classical Information is a subset, a particular case of Quantum Information. Or better, both are evolutionary stages of the Formation of Reality — phases that coexist in nested levels of Reality. Classical Information is a "certain" cherry on an immense and underground "uncertain" cake: Quantum Information. But the whole cake, if we want to describe it in depth, can only be described by Processes that are, at the same time, indeterministic (probabilistic, stochastic) and deterministic (classical), and all the shades in between.
The two components have different weights and dynamics depending on the scale of analysis. The movement of an electron in an atom, or of a quark in a nucleon, is dominated by indeterministic dynamics; the motion of a galactic bubble in a cluster of galaxies, or even the position of the Moon relative to the Earth, is dominated by deterministic dynamics. It depends on what we want to do. If we measure the distance of the Moon with a precision of one tenth of a proton diameter, the indeterministic component will be present, but negligible. Moreover, the position, motion, speed, acceleration, size of the Moon and Earth, and the extension and shape of Space‑time in which they are immersed, are in constant fluctuation.
In short, it is a matter of perspective, of desired or necessary precision. What we call Classical Information, even when not affected by deterministic chaotic components, is always an approximation — in a certain sense an illusion — that chaos does not exist. And yet chaos is always there, in the factory of Reality, at the most elementary level: ontological chaos. If we do not see it, it is because we do not want to see it (we regard it as a disturbance), or because we are looking from afar and the resolution of our eyes — or of our instruments — is insufficient. Approximation or illusion, or both. In many situations it is useful and comfortable to reason about Physical Reality without this uncomfortable inconvenience: chaos, uncertainty, indeterminacy.
Links to the tables of contents of TFNR Paper
