Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies

The fact that objects embody information and imagination may seem obvious. Information is a fundamental aspect of nature, one that is older than life itself. It is also an aspect of nature that accelerated with life. Consider the replication of information-rich molecules, such as DNA and RNA. The replication of DNA and RNA is not the replication of

economic development is based not on the ability of a pocket of the economy to consume but on the ability of people to turn their dreams into reality. Economic development is not the ability to buy but the ability to make.

James Coleman,

What we need to know here is that the steady states of physical systems can be described as minimums of mathematical functions, which are known as thermodynamic potentials.

For information to truly grow, the universe needs one more trick. This is the ability of matter to process information, or the ability of matter to compute.

The irreversibility of time is the mechanism that brings order out of chaos. —ILYA PRIGOGINE

Our ability to transmit meaningful messages builds on the prior existence of meaningless forms of physical order. These meaningless forms of order are what information truly is.*

the ability to embody information outside our bodies is not unique to our species. In fact, our ability to print information in our environment makes us similar to other eusocial species, such as ants. Single ants are not very clever, but their ability to deposit information in the form of pheromones can make ant colonies extremely savvy.

Trust, which is an essential form of social capital, is the “glue” needed to form and maintain large networks. It is different from the knowledge and knowhow that we accumulate in these networks.9