info
the domain of distinction. wherever one state differs from another, information exists. a bit is the smallest distinction — yes or no, 0 or 1. everything above that is structure built on bits: signals, codes, messages, compression, channels
Shannon proved that every channel has a capacity — a maximum rate at which distinctions can be transmitted reliably. entropy measures how much surprise a source carries. these are physical laws, as binding as thermodynamics
for cyber, info is the native medium. every particle is a content-addressed distinction (an IPFS hash). every cyberlink carries information from source to target. cyberank computes relevance — which distinctions matter given what the graph already knows. the entire protocol is an information-processing architecture: neurons produce signals, the graph propagates them, and focus concentrates on what reduces uncertainty
scope
signals — frequency, wavelength, spectrum, sampling, noise. the physics of carrying distinctions through a medium. radio, light, sound are all channels
coding — binary, compression, entropy, bit. how to represent and shrink information without losing it. the crystal targets irreducibility: no particle is compressible given the rest
channels — capacity, error correction, bandwidth. the constraints on how fast distinctions flow. Bostrom's bandwidth limiting is an information-theoretic throttle on the cybergraph
bridges
- info → math: entropy is a function. coding theory is applied combinatorics and linear algebra
- info → comp: data structures are information laid out for efficient access. databases are persistent channels
- info → energo: Landauer principle — erasing one bit costs kT ln 2 joules. information and thermodynamics are unified
- info → neuro: the brain is an information-processing organ. predictive coding says it minimizes surprise — free energy principle
- info → cyber: the protocol is an information architecture. focus is a conserved information-relevance measure
key figures
Shannon, Ludwig Boltzmann, Norbert Wiener, Landauer, Alan Turing