Is information the primary substance in the Universe?

Information is a word that has never been easy to pin down. In its most familiar sense, information today is news, intelligence, facts and ideas that are needed and passed on as knowledge. But a more active and constructive meaning as something that gives a certain shape or character to matter, or to mind; a force that shapes behaviour, trains, instructs, inspires and guides. Information gives form to the formless, DNA codes are information and form human thought patterns. In this way, information spans the disparate fields of space computing, classical physics, molecular biology and human communication, the evolution of language and the evolution of man. Nature can no longer be seen as matter and energy, but must be interpreted as matter, energy and information. (Campbell, Jeremy, 1982)

The universe is a physical system that contains bits of information. Every elementary particle carries bits of information. Electrons carrying information interact in a systematic way to perform a quantum logic operation. A computer and our mobile phones work like the universe because they are part of the universe and to work they must obey the same physical laws. Computers and the universe are information processors. Quantum computing is currently possible because of information, the universe already works this way. (Lloyd, Seth, 2016) 

Quantum information processing analyses the universe in terms of information: the universe consists not only of photons, electrons, neutrinos and quarks, but also of quantum bits or qubits. Professor Lloyd says that the universe is a gigantic computer, which processes information in quantum bits (qubits). Cosmologist Paul Davies says: “Instead of seeing matter as the primary substance of the universe, we think that information is the primary substance of the universe.” (Davies, Paul, 2020)

The universe, a computer, the human body, the environment, a shipping or tank storage company; all living systems are information carriers, receptors and/or transmitters dependent on communication. The information they carry can be understood as meaning, observed and grasped by the human consciousness and processed by its brain. Without the human ability to interpret information and meaning, the usefulness (functionality) of bits of information could not have been observed.

The first entry point of information is the human observation by subconscious and conscious perception ability. Therefore it is of crucial importance how man interprets the information, because what it means to him or her will ‘in-form i.e. give form’ to one’s lived reality. A false perception by misunderstanding or deliberately invoked by lies or propaganda causes man to make choices that may be or become harmful to life, the environment and social cohesion.

For our bulk storage and transport industries, learning about this exciting theory has proven to be very useful. All you have to do is to measure the available quantity of quality in your organisation and start using all of it. This will mitigate risk and improve HSEQ and operational excellence. The research is ongoing. If you want to learn more please visit www.sustenance4all.com.

This is the latest in a monthly series of articles by Arend van Campen, founder of TankTerminalTraining, who can be contacted at arendvc@tankterminaltraining.com. More information on the company’s activities can be found at www.tankterminaltraining.com.