Information Is (Only) Probability

Is information a real entity, or is it only a useful mathematical notion? Shannon’s equation and a consolidated tradition have led many scientists and laymen to consider information as some kind of physical, additive quantity. The very well-known argument in favour of information as a physical quant...

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Main Author: Riccardo Manzotti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-03-01
Series:Proceedings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3900/81/1/36
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author Riccardo Manzotti
author_facet Riccardo Manzotti
author_sort Riccardo Manzotti
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description Is information a real entity, or is it only a useful mathematical notion? Shannon’s equation and a consolidated tradition have led many scientists and laymen to consider information as some kind of physical, additive quantity. The very well-known argument in favour of information as a physical quantity has not reached any definitive conclusion. Much has been derived from Shannon’s formula, which was introduced to provide a convenient logarithmic measure that might be practically useful and close to most intuitive feelings. Shannon never insisted on the ontological status of information, which might be revealed to be a lot less committing than is often believed. The bottom line is that information might be a convenient mathematical notation to express the probability of independent configurations in a system.
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spelling doaj.art-1f7f8750b18045398bda800249b670452023-11-23T18:33:01ZengMDPI AGProceedings2504-39002022-03-018113610.3390/proceedings2022081036Information Is (Only) ProbabilityRiccardo Manzotti0Department of Business, Law, and Consumer Behavior, IULM University, 20143 Milan, ItalyIs information a real entity, or is it only a useful mathematical notion? Shannon’s equation and a consolidated tradition have led many scientists and laymen to consider information as some kind of physical, additive quantity. The very well-known argument in favour of information as a physical quantity has not reached any definitive conclusion. Much has been derived from Shannon’s formula, which was introduced to provide a convenient logarithmic measure that might be practically useful and close to most intuitive feelings. Shannon never insisted on the ontological status of information, which might be revealed to be a lot less committing than is often believed. The bottom line is that information might be a convenient mathematical notation to express the probability of independent configurations in a system.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3900/81/1/36informationentropyShannoncausal overdeterminationreificationontology
spellingShingle Riccardo Manzotti
Information Is (Only) Probability
Proceedings
information
entropy
Shannon
causal overdetermination
reification
ontology
title Information Is (Only) Probability
title_full Information Is (Only) Probability
title_fullStr Information Is (Only) Probability
title_full_unstemmed Information Is (Only) Probability
title_short Information Is (Only) Probability
title_sort information is only probability
topic information
entropy
Shannon
causal overdetermination
reification
ontology
url https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3900/81/1/36
work_keys_str_mv AT riccardomanzotti informationisonlyprobability