A friend asks, and one would think the answer is yes.
He had been reading my Data Basic post, “Is Information, Not Matter, the Foundation of Life?” and had noted this:
For example, information is a relationship between realized and unrealized possibilities. It is created by ruling out possibilities. It increases when we increase its resolution. The first six digits tell us that a phone rings in one small region. A unique ten-digit number reaches our friend’s cell.
I think that he is asking, how can false information be part of the foundation of life, which is real?
A couple of thoughts come to mind:
– False information has impact. It causes thing to happen Many life form rely on it. See, for example, the flowers that look like faces
– Intentionally false information (e.g. lies) is probably more complex than correct information because it two streams must be maintained separately: The correct state of affairs and the one intended to mislead.
Indeed, many people don’t lie principally because, after a while, it would becomes too complex. One could get caught running between two worlds …
– If false information is more complex than true information, what does one make of all those insects that look like plants? No matter what Dawkins sneers, they can’t be doing it just step by step.
Now that the Darwin bellowing seems to have died down for a while, let’s think this one out in real world terms. Thoughts?
See also: Data Basic
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Note: Some “flowers that look like faces” may be bred or their photos enhanced. The actual one are amazing enough; one clu is that the mimicry doesn’t typically cater to human perceptions.