Information Is (Only) Probability

Abstract

Is information a real entity, or is it only a useful mathematical notion? Shannon’s equation and a consolidated tradition have led many scientists and laymen to consider information as some kind of physical, additive quantity. The very well-known argument in favour of information as a physical quantity has not reached any definitive conclusion. Much has been derived from Shannon’s formula, which was introduced to provide a convenient logarithmic measure that might be practically useful and close to most intuitive feelings. Shannon never insisted on the ontological status of information, which might be revealed to be a lot less committing than is often believed. The bottom line is that information might be a convenient mathematical notation to express the probability of independent configurations in a system.

Keywords

• information
• entropy
• Shannon
• causal overdetermination
• reification
• ontology