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Information exists and is transmitted in many forms. Oral and written languages, developed over eons in various pockets of the world are how humanity has communicated information for a vast majority of its history. Recently, with the development of technology and the internet, a new method of communication has been developed in the form of 1's and 0's, a new language capable of being transmitted and read easily by a device that can differentiate between 2 states, but a language nonetheless easily convertible from the archaic languages.
However, over the last few years, a new treasure trove of information has been found, one that describes the functioning of all life on earth, but cannot be translated into the prior kinds of information. The discovery that DNA stores and transmits information was a revolution in our understanding of the world, not just because of all the secrets unravelled about the functioning of life, but also because it proved the existence of information encoded in the world around us.
DNA stores information in the sequence of molecules in its chain, with 4 molecules akin to the 0's and 1's in the binary system. However, the information is used and transmitted through the creation and movement of proteins around the DNA. For years, the use of chemical signals being used as a means of communication among insects has been studied and while it was known that they convey information, it has always been thought to be simple signals of danger, food etc. However, the fact that molecules are used to convey complex information within cells imply that they can also be used to convey complex information between individuals on a slightly larger scale.
Further, this thought of complex information being stored in containers we cant read is perplexing,
How do we even perceive what around us is information and what is the inherent randomness of the universe?
A random sequence of numbers like the sequence at the start of this blog, or its binary sequence would mean nothing unless we know its key. There's an infinite number of keys, and decrypting algorithms, and a random sequence like the one above can be decrypted to numerous legible words using different algorithms. As humanity tries to figure out information stored in these new containers, how do we decide which key to use?
In the case of DNA, one key that was found was the sequence of nucleotides, a second key found was the proteins that enabled certain sections of the sequence. We now know both play a role in understanding DNA, but the question remains, how many more such keys exist? And which of the ones we discover are not just a result of our prior biases and expectations.
A third container that we recently started looking at in the form of SETI was the observation of extra-terrestrial radiation, and we hope to find any abnormal e-m radiation and label the source as ‘intelligent life’. However, almost none of the radiation we sent out into space is in a directly readable form. Most information is carried on a wave by varying the frequency or amplitude while being superimposed on a second wave, and unless we know what to look for, the wave would look like random noise generated by a superposition of waves from multiple sources. Unless we know the key to decrypting the noise we receive from outer space, it’s just that. Further, even if we do find a key, it could just be a key we came up with to create random information from noise and nothing more. Abnormal radiation can only be identified when everything normal is known, and we frankly know very little about the varied sources of radiation out there.
Neural networks in the brain also store information using a combination of pattern arrangement, signalling differences within the neurons and gradients in neurotransmitters, which we have only recently begun to study.
Information may exist in many other forms, encrypted in forms beyond our wildest imagination. With the discovery of these varied containers which possess no direct translatability between them, we need to reassess how we approach encrypted information, and even randomness in the universe. How much of the randomness that we associate with life and the universe – the arrangement of molecules, the chemical broth and radiation that we assume is actually information hidden away awaiting the right key, is there a key?
Key: sxunwycvbmifpzjgqdaeohklrt
http://practicalcryptography.com/ciphers/simple-substitution-cipher/
Information exists and is transmitted in many forms. Oral and written languages, developed over eons in various pockets of the world are how humanity has communicated information for a vast majority of its history. Recently, with the development of technology and the internet, a new method of communication has been developed in the form of 1's and 0's, a new language capable of being transmitted and read easily by a device that can differentiate between 2 states, but a language nonetheless easily convertible from the archaic languages.
However, over the last few years, a new treasure trove of information has been found, one that describes the functioning of all life on earth, but cannot be translated into the prior kinds of information. The discovery that DNA stores and transmits information was a revolution in our understanding of the world, not just because of all the secrets unravelled about the functioning of life, but also because it proved the existence of information encoded in the world around us.
DNA stores information in the sequence of molecules in its chain, with 4 molecules akin to the 0's and 1's in the binary system. However, the information is used and transmitted through the creation and movement of proteins around the DNA. For years, the use of chemical signals being used as a means of communication among insects has been studied and while it was known that they convey information, it has always been thought to be simple signals of danger, food etc. However, the fact that molecules are used to convey complex information within cells imply that they can also be used to convey complex information between individuals on a slightly larger scale.
Further, this thought of complex information being stored in containers we cant read is perplexing,
How do we even perceive what around us is information and what is the inherent randomness of the universe?
A random sequence of numbers like the sequence at the start of this blog, or its binary sequence would mean nothing unless we know its key. There's an infinite number of keys, and decrypting algorithms, and a random sequence like the one above can be decrypted to numerous legible words using different algorithms. As humanity tries to figure out information stored in these new containers, how do we decide which key to use?
In the case of DNA, one key that was found was the sequence of nucleotides, a second key found was the proteins that enabled certain sections of the sequence. We now know both play a role in understanding DNA, but the question remains, how many more such keys exist? And which of the ones we discover are not just a result of our prior biases and expectations.
A third container that we recently started looking at in the form of SETI was the observation of extra-terrestrial radiation, and we hope to find any abnormal e-m radiation and label the source as ‘intelligent life’. However, almost none of the radiation we sent out into space is in a directly readable form. Most information is carried on a wave by varying the frequency or amplitude while being superimposed on a second wave, and unless we know what to look for, the wave would look like random noise generated by a superposition of waves from multiple sources. Unless we know the key to decrypting the noise we receive from outer space, it’s just that. Further, even if we do find a key, it could just be a key we came up with to create random information from noise and nothing more. Abnormal radiation can only be identified when everything normal is known, and we frankly know very little about the varied sources of radiation out there.
Neural networks in the brain also store information using a combination of pattern arrangement, signalling differences within the neurons and gradients in neurotransmitters, which we have only recently begun to study.
Information may exist in many other forms, encrypted in forms beyond our wildest imagination. With the discovery of these varied containers which possess no direct translatability between them, we need to reassess how we approach encrypted information, and even randomness in the universe. How much of the randomness that we associate with life and the universe – the arrangement of molecules, the chemical broth and radiation that we assume is actually information hidden away awaiting the right key, is there a key?
Key: sxunwycvbmifpzjgqdaeohklrt
http://practicalcryptography.com/ciphers/simple-substitution-cipher/
