TFNR - From Relation to Information: the dynamics of Evolution
The relationship between Relations (the manner, the form in which what happens, happens) and Information (the Form of Action, the pattern of the Relations that organize the Events in Processes) is essential to understanding the unique dynamics of the incessant Evolution of the Essence/Form of Reality at all levels of Complexity.
Let's revisit these two concepts, trying to grasp their distinct nature, functions, and mutual relationships.
Relations
We have seen that Relations are connections, associations, influences, dependencies between Events, or, more generally, between Processes of Events (Structures, Forms). They are produced by interactions between Events within the Field.
Relations (from the most elementary to the most complex ones, from micro- to macro-Events) are always connections between variations (from the most elementary to the more complex levels of Reality) produced by the interaction of Events under the incessant evolutive pressure of the Force acting on the Field.
Relation, the causal and the variational connection of each Event, that which enables the transition from the formless to the with-form, from the unstructured to the structured, is another expression (indirect, derived) of the fundamental property of the Sources that we call Agency, the act of producing Events, variations that, interacting in the Field (a continuous, connected, dynamical and conservative sub-Entity), connect in more complex Events, and Processes.
A car moving or crashing, a giant void swirling in the dark, molecules agitating in biological tissues, stars exploding, leaves falling in the wonderful colors of autumn—everything we see in the world is made of Processes. Processes of Events organized by Relations, produced by Entities. Correlations of inhomogeneities in the distributions of fluctuations of "Something" (in the end, we always find the Primary Source, the Force, and the Field).
Incredibly complex patterns of correlations between inhomogeneities in distributions of Field fluctuations produced by Forces. Patterns we call cars, stars, molecules, biological tissues, etc., endlessly. Schemes of Relations, within Processes we observe in every natural Phenomena.
Information
Information is the Form of Action. Organized Action, Action with a Form (In-Form-Action)—the entire set of Relations (what gives form) that connect Events within Processes, Information within Structures, Structures within Forms, parts within Systems, and ultimately within the whole: the Universe in Evolution.
From Relations to Information
Sources that produces Events, which interacting construct Relations, and the Essence / Form of Reality. The schemes, the patterns of these Relations, which incessantly create and evolve the Essence / Form of Reality, is Information. In the most elementary level of Reality
Information is a peculiar concept—elusive, difficult to master. Much like the term conventionally associated in scientific usage with the most elementary forms of Information: Energy. Both Information and Energy refer to correlations, to Relationships between entities.
A system composed of parts in homogeneous equilibrium (e.g., a uniform distribution of parts) possesses the minimal amount of Information. That is, the Relations among the parts are homogeneous and therefore require the least amount of Information to be described. This condition also corresponds to the lowest amount of Energy in the system, particularly the lowest amount of usable Energy for performing work. This discussion is closely tied to the concept of Entropy, which we will explore in a later chapter.
To illustrate, let us imagine an elementary system composed of a series of random harmonic oscillators (for simplicity, we assume a discrete system, where oscillators can be identified and separated from one another). If the intrinsic dynamics of each oscillator can be described and characterized independently of all others (via independent stochastic processes), the Information and Energy of the system are minimal. They amount to the sum of the Information / Energy of each individual oscillator. Furthermore, if the temporal distributions of the oscillations are identical, the Information that describes—and the Energy that characterizes—the system is further reduced. To quantify the Information / Energy of a system, we can always refer to the quality/quantity of Information, or, in the case of elementary systems like the one hypothesized here, the amount of Energy that is necessary and sufficient to fully describe the behavior of the system itself.
Now, if we imagine that the stochastic processes describing the behavior of the random harmonic oscillators are not entirely independent, but instead introduce a certain degree of correlation, then additional Information / Energy is added to that of the independent oscillator system. This added quantity derives from the set of Relationships (in the form of correlations among the distributions that describe the oscillators' dynamics). A fundamental symmetry has been broken, and an inhomogeneity has emerged in the dynamics of the oscillators themselves.
Even if the correlation pattern were symmetric, a symmetry would still be broken—though a higher-order symmetry would be preserved. The Information / Energy would still be greater than in the case of stochastic independence.
And if even the symmetry of the correlations were to break down, the Information / Energy of the system would increase further.
A greater amount of Information would be required to describe the system, which becomes more inhomogeneous, more complex, and characterized by a higher degree of Energy. Energy that becomes increasingly usable for performing work, as the inhomogeneity of the distribution or the dynamic behavior of the parts increases.
Reality is far more complex than this example—even at the most elementary level of Field dynamics, where we enter the realm of continuity, and the density of Events and their interactions is extraordinarily high (imagine concentrating within a cubic millimeter of Space billions upon billions upon billions, and so on, of Elementary Events—causal harmonic oscillators interacting incessantly at a temporal rhythm beyond imagination). Yet I hope this example, though very simple, has conveyed the idea of the link between Relations and Information / Energy.
One more reflection on the theme of Information / Energy, which I will revisit several times throughout this work, concerning the nature of Information / Energy and its relationship with Action.
Dynamics is the branch of Evolutionary Knowledge that studies "why and how (Principles and Processes - dyna) what exists (Entities - onto) produces what happens in the way it happens (Events and Relations - pheno)"—the Principles and Processes that describe the Process of Formation of Reality, the manifestation of the fundamental Operator, and the modes of expression of Derived Operators.
Evolution is one of the two sub-Processes that cooperate in the Formation of Reality. While Creation is the Formation of Events, Evolution can be seen as the Formation of Relations—progressively more complex Relations between Events, within increasingly complex Processes.
To observe the Form of what happens—the Forms of Events in the act of manifesting, the Form of Action in the act of being expressed—we need to take snapshots, to stop Time. Only by stopping Time (making an observation, performing a measurement) can we perceive the Form of what has happened—the (partial) result of the incessant Process of Formation of Reality. By stopping Time, we can observe the shape of things in their making, we can grasp the Form of Action, obtain Information, and measure the Energy of a system—Energy being an elementary form of (Physical) Information.
As Action is Events in the act of occurring, Information is the Form (the scheme, the pattern of organization) of the Relation connecting Events within more complex Events, within Processes—those things we can observe, we can measure. Only by stopping Time can we perceive the result of the Formation of Reality—of the incessant Creation of Events and the continuous Evolution of Relations.
This incessant Evolution of Relations—which we can observe by capturing, exchanging Information / Energy, performing measurements—is carried out by the three Operators of Reality acting at the level of Information, realizing the scheme we call the Cycle of Information (the true evolutionary engine of Reality): Organization, Transformation, Selection. These Operators empower the Dynamics of Evolution—the sub-Process that gives shape to the entire Reality we are part of.
Links to the tables of contents of TFNR Paper
