Evolution and information

Abstract

The association between life and information is discussed. Information is considered to be “a stimulus which expands or amends the World View of the informed”. Using this definition, the standard chain of evolutionary development is reconsidered. It is proposed that information was derived from the environment as a direct result of the evolution of organisms that used other organisms as a food source. Only with the evolution of sexual reproduction did it become necessary for organisms to be aware of others of the same species. It is argued that one of the consequences of the evolution of different sexes is that often, prospective mates had to evolve means of communication, making it possible for animals to expand their World Views by other means. Such reinterpretation of evolutionary thinking has numerous implications for the information scientist. Some of these are discussed.

Citation

Madden, A.D. (2004), "Evolution and information", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 60 No. 1, pp. 9-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410410516626