Information, Knowledge, Evolution and Self

A Question of Origins

To understand this subject in relation to the overarching narrative of evolution, one must first understand a simple scientific fact, one that is generally hidden by imprecise language: Material storage devices, irrespective of whether they be synthetic or organic, do NOT and CANNOT store information. The same is to be said for communications of any form, through any media. I realise that this may be difficult to accept, so let me explain. Firstly, the word information is the noun equivalent of the verb to inform, and thus if a communication does not inform you, it is not information to you. It may be information to somebody else, but that is irrelevant in the context of an individuals cognitive processing and knowledge. In the context of evolution, we must always consider the individual organism, for that is where the mechanisms of evolution are said to occur before impacting a wider group. This is not a science book in the accepted sense, for I am not a scientist. The target readership is people like myself, well educated in a number of fields, enthusiastic amateurs if you like, but willing and able to see through the fog of technical language and unsupported assertions to discern the truth for themselves. Of course, I would welcome readership amongst the scientific community, but such people should understand that some of the rigorous norms of scientific publications are absent from this work.