LogicalNecessity · Chain Position 6 of 346

MATTER-ENERGY DERIVATIVE

If information is primitive, matter/energy are derivative

Connections

Assumes

Enables

Objections & Responses
Objection: "Matter is obviously fundamental"
"I can touch matter. Information is abstract."
Response

You touch electromagnetic repulsion between electron clouds — an interaction described by quantum electrodynamics, itself an informational structure. The "solidity" you experience is the impossibility of two fermions sharing the same quantum numbers (Pauli exclusion) — an informational constraint. Your tactile experience is neural information processing. At no point do you contact "brute matter."

Objection: "E=mc² proves energy is fundamental"
"Mass converts to energy. They're the primitives."
Response

E=mc² shows mass and energy are interconvertible — two forms of the same thing. But what is that thing? Both are fully described by informational properties. The equation is a transformation rule between information states, not a claim about ultimate primitiveness.

Objection: "The universe is made of particles"
"Particle physics studies fundamental particles, not information."
Response

"Particles" in modern physics are excitations of quantum fields — localized information patterns. The Higgs field gives mass (information). Gauge bosons mediate forces (information transfer). Fermions have quantum numbers (information labels). The Standard Model is an information-theoretic classification system.

Physics Layer

Standard Model as Information Classification

Particles = information labels:

Every particle in the Standard Model is defined entirely by its quantum numbers:

| Particle | Mass (MeV) | Charge | Spin | Color | Weak Isospin |

|----------|------------|--------|------|-------|-------------|

| electron | 0.511 | -1 | 1/2 | - | -1/2 |

| up quark | 2.2 | +2/3 | 1/2 | r,g,b | +1/2 |

| photon | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | - |

| Higgs | 125,000 | 0 | 0 | - | - |

Each row is an information packet. The "particle" is nothing but these numbers plus their dynamics (governed by Lagrangian = more information).

Mathematical Layer

Category-Theoretic Reduction

Functor F: Phys → Info:

Define a category Phys with:

  • Objects: physical systems
  • Morphisms: physical processes

Define a category Info with:

  • Objects: information states
  • Morphisms: information channels

Claim ([[006_LN1.1_Matter-Energy-Derivative|LN1.1]]): There exists a faithful functor F: Phys → Info such that:

  • F is injective on objects (distinct physical systems → distinct info states)
  • F preserves composition (physical processes = information processing)

If F exists and is faithful, physics REDUCES to information theory.

Defeat Conditions

To Falsify This

  1. **Reject [[003_A1.3_Information-Primacy|A1.3]]** - If information is NOT primitive, the derivation fails
  2. **Demonstrate a property of matter/energy that is non-informational** - A property that cannot be reduced to a distinction, a measurement outcome, or a bit-string
  3. **Define "matter" without using informational terms** - Describe what an electron *is* without mass, charge, spin, position, or momentum