Information, Entropy, Life, and the Universe

In 2015, I wrote a book with the same title as this article. The book's subtitle is: What we know and what we do not know. On the book's dedication page, I wrote: This book is dedicated to readers of popular science books who are baffled, perplexed, puzzled, astonished, confused, and discombobulated by reading about Information, Entropy, Life and the Universe. In the first part of this article, I will present the definitions of two central concepts: the Shannon measure of information (SMI), in Information Theory, and Entropy, in Thermodynamics. Following these definitions, I will discuss the framework of their applicability. In the second part of the article, I will examine the question of whether living systems and the entire universe are, or are not within the framework of applicability of the concepts of SMI and Entropy. I will show that much of the confusion that exists in the literature arises because of people's ignorance about the framework of applicability of these concepts.

Automated summary

This article begins by presenting the definitions of Shannon measure of information (SMI) and Entropy, and discussing their applicability. It then examines whether living systems and the entire universe fall within the framework of these concepts, and points out that confusion in the literature arises from ignorance about the framework of applicability.