Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
information associated with (or imparted on) this Universe, to be designated as I
C
,
where C means “cosmological,” may be expressed simply as the binary logarithm
of the ratio between these two numbers (assuming for simplicity that all
possibles
have equal probabilities of being actualized):
I
C
¼
ð
p
=
a
Þ
log
2
bits
(6.33)
Although it is almost impossible to measure or determine
p
and
a
(and hence I
C
),
the mere fact that we can write down a mathematical expression relating these two
quantities to the information content of the Universe may be significant.
Equation
6.33
describes only the informational aspect of the origin of the
Universe. The energy aspect of the origin of the Universe appears adequately
described by the Big Bang theory in physics. That is, the energy requirement for
the selection process implicated in Eq.
6.33
is met by the dissipation of free energy
(or entropy production in this case, since the Universe is isolated) attending the
expansion of the Universe:
Entropy Production
p
!
a
(6.34)
where the arrow indicates that
a
actuals have been selected out of
p
possibles
(i.e.,
p
a
). In Ji (1991), it was suggested that
p
might be identified with (all
possible)
superstrings
, and hence
a
may now be identified with a subset of
p
reified
into elementary particles constituting all the material entities extant in this Universe.
The total number of particles in this Universe has been estimated to be approxi-
mately 10
80
, which is known as the Eddington number (Barrow and Tipler 1986,
p. 225). These
a
actuals are thought to possess sufficient
information
and
energy
(i.e.,
gnergy
) to evolve higher-order structures such as atoms and molecules, stars,
planets, galaxies, the biosphere, and organisms including humans, under appropriate
conditions emergent at specific epochs in the history of the Universe (see Fig.
15.12
).
It is interesting to note that a similar view was recently put forward by a group of
cosmologists (Kane et al. 2000). The biological information encoded in living
systems may be viewed as ultimately derived from the Cosmological Information,
I
C
, through a series of information
transductions
, similar to the well-studied phe-
nomenon of signal transductions occurring in the living cell (Sect.
12.16
). If this
view of the origin of information is correct, a set of interesting inferences could be
made:
>
1. What happens in this Universe cannot be completely random, including
biological evolution. That is, biological evolution may be constrained (or
directed) by the cosmological information, I
C
, encoded in nonliving material
entities (i.e., abiotic matter).
2. All information associated with this Universe may be continuous with (or traced
back to) the origin of the cosmological information at the time of and prior to the
Big Bang.
