Evolutionary Theory as Information Theory

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Charles Darwin didn't perceive inheritance as the replication of information since he lacked an understanding of how information is encoded. However, he observed variation, selection, and inheritance in living beings, which are properties of information. Inheritance is akin to the replication of information, variation is the mutation of information, and selection is the meaning of information. Darwin's observations reflect that organisms with advantageous information are fitter and have more offspring. While Darwin didn't conceptualize evolution as an information theory, his predictions about orchids and sphinx moths demonstrate his understanding of evolution as a predictive theory, even without framing it in information-theoretical terms.

Evolution is sometimes described -- not precisely, but with some justification -- as being about the "survival of the fittest." But that idea doesn't work unless there is some way for one generation to pass down information about how best to survive. We now know that such information is passed down in a variety of ways: through our inherited genome, through epigenetic factors, and of course through cultural transmission. Chris Adami suggests that we update Dobzhansky's maxim "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" to "... except in the light of information." We talk about information theory as a subject in its own right, and how it helps us to understand organisms, evolution, and the origin of life.

Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2024/02/19/266-christoph-adami-on-how-information-makes-sense-of-biology/

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Christoph Adami received his Ph.D. in physics from Stony Brook University. He is currently professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics as well as Physics and Astronomy at Michigan State University. Among his awards are the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Artificial Life. His new book is The Evolution of Biological Information: How Evolution Creates Complexity, from Viruses to Brains.

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