Monday, May 26, 2008

Other Way Smarter People Think Like I Do

The "grandmother" of the IDM, Denyse O'Leary, posted a link at UncommonDescent to download a pdf copy of the book, The Mystery of Life's Origins, by Thaxton, Bradley and Olson (which I have already done so and added to my Library).

However, an interesting quote by Dr. Charles Thaxton was also included in the post:

"Information theory is a special branch of mathematics that has developed a way to measure information. In brief, the information content of a structure is the minimum number of instructions required to describe or specify it, whether that structure is a rock or a rocket ship, a pile of leaves or a living organism. The more complex a structure is, the more instructions are needed to describe it."


It would appear that Dr. Thaxton, like myself, believes that objects in nature can be measured using Information Theory. The instructions mentioned by Thaxton could conceivably consist of material, assembly and function, as described in the Conceptual Design Framework.

I don't know where and when the quote came from, and I also don't know if the CDF parameters were what Thaxton had in mind when he mentioned instructions, but it would appear that someone way smarter than me has a similar viewpoint on how to measure information in natural objects.

HT: "Grandma" O'Leary @ UD

Note: the "grandma" moniker is a nickname I came up with for Ms. O'Leary based on what I've read from her posts and comments. When I refer to her as "Grandma" O'Leary, no animosity is intended.

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