Information Is Interesting Stuff
Information is both more and less real than the material universe. It's more real because it will survive any physical change; it will outlast any physical manifestation of itself. It's less real because it's ineffable. For example, you can touch a shoe, but you can't touch the notion of “shoe-ness” (that is, what it means to be a shoe). The notion of shoe-ness is probably eternal, but every shoe is ephemeral.
The relationship between information and reality is fascinating. (By reality here I mean “the reality of the material universe”—or what we think of as its reality.) We all behave as if we believe that there is a very strong, utterly reliable connection between information and reality. We ascribe moral significance ...
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