John Archibald Wheeler (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, January 16, 2016, 15:01 (3234 days ago) @ David Turell

He is a giant among quantum theorists. This article discusses him and briefly mentions his thoughts about information:-https://plus.maths.org/content/it-bit-"Wheeler categorised his long and productive life in physics into three periods: "Everything is Particles", "Everything is Fields", and "Everything is Information". (You can read more about his life and work in his autobiography, Geons, Black Holes and Quantum Foam.) The driving idea behind the third period was spurred by his contemplation of the age-old question: "How come existence?" And his answer, first published in a brilliantly written (and very entertaining) paper in 1989, was it from bit: -"'It from bit symbolises the idea that every item of the physical world has at bottom — at a very deep bottom, in most instances — an immaterial source and explanation; that what we call reality arises in the last analysis from the posing of yes-no questions and the registering of equipment-evoked responses; in short, that all things physical are information-theoretic in origin and this is a participatory universe."-***-"Anton Zeilinger, Director of the Institue for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, explains: "My interpretation [of "it from bit"] is that in order to define reality, one has to take into account the role of information: mainly the fact that whatever we do in science is based on information which we receive by whatever means." -"But can we go one step further? Can we say reality is information, that they are one and the same? Zeilinger thinks not: "No, we [need] both concepts. But the distinction between the two is very difficult on a rigorous basis, and maybe that tells us something." Instead, we need to think of reality and information together, with one influencing the other, both remaining consistent with each other."-Comment: Also read the article for its discussion of quantum mechanics and the role of the observer.