Information, Symbols and Numbers
The universe, as we know it, is full of things. These things have properties. The description of these properties is " information."
As a species we have been collecting information about the universe for millions of years. Some of this information has been collected in our genes, some has been collected in language and culture. Recently (maybe 10 000 years ago) we began writing information down. Not long after that we started quantifying the world around us using numbers.
The first machine designed to process numbers that we know of is the abacus. It is believed to have been invented sometime around 400 B.C. in Iraq. The first programmable calculator was invented in 1941.
The ubuiquitous computer owes its popularity to a surprising phenomenon we first became conscious of 10 000 years ago - it is possible to describe the world around us using symbols.
We have also learned that any symbol can be mapped to a number. This mapping can be purely on an informational basis - for example when we assign a social insurance number to a name. Some mappings, however, relate actual physical events to numbers, as is done with a digital video camera. In general, Transducers allow us to convert external stimuli into numerical representations.
The universe, as we know it, requires near-infinite information to describe it. Our own genetic code, the Human Genome, represent only a few million "pieces of information". Find out more!
It takes less than 10 Billion bits to copy our entire genetic code.
