von Baeyer asks, “But what is the wave function? Its interpretation as a probability provides a clue. Probabilities . . . are shorthand expressions of partial knowledge - of information. Similarly, the wave function of an electron in an atom contains information about the likelihood of finding the electron in various places. It is a map of potentialities - a catalogue of possibilities. It is information, pure and simple; and its shape determines the form of the atom.”

I share this quote from von Baeyer since it is important to understand what a wave function is and how it differs from wave length and wave form. I have discussed wave forms as they apply to synaptic transmission through neural networks in some of my latest blog posts.

von Baeyer discusses entropy in the context of information in his book. He referenced Ludwig Boltzmann who “pointed out that . . . the value of entropy rises from zero, when we know all about a system, to its maximum value when we know least. . . . Entropy is . . . about our lack of information.”

God, who is the ultimate Source of all information, held the “maximum value” of informational entropy at the Beginning of creation when He had not yet specified how information would be instantiated into given creations. All possibilities existed in the Mind of God. As God specified how information would be selectively actualized, possibilities were ruled out, and aspects of given created systems became known with the value of entropy approaching, or becoming, zero.

As one reads this blog post one may understand better how information, as a topic, can escape one’s attention and comprehension. I have addressed entropy in the context of information here and in my books so that readers can come to an understanding of it, especially beholding God’s glory in His creation of our universe and all within it.

In my more recent blog posts I have discussed wave function and wave forms in the context of synaptic transmission. I refer the reader back to the three part series entitled “Waves in Our Brains.” von Baeyer discussed the wave function in Chapter 5 of his book, and I include a significant excerpt from it that deals ultimately with . . . information:

“If the wave function does not represent a faithful picture of an atom, what exactly is it? In different experiments one can measure the positions, the velocities, the energy levels, the magnetic effects and a variety of other properties of the electron. All these properties can be predicted from the wave function, which therefore acts as a succinct mathematical encoding of information resembling a map of potentiality - a catalogue of possibilities. If the wave function is nothing but a storehouse of information needed to make correct predictions, then the stuff of the world is really, at bottom, information.”

In my books and several blog posts I have referred to the work of William A. Dembski, specifically to his book Being as Communion: A Metaphysics of Information. I complement my last blog with selected comments by Dembski in Chapter 3, “Information as Ruling Out Possibilities”:

“In everyday life, information is associated with intelligent agents who form statements to convey meaning. Accordingly, intelligent agents convey information to other intelligent agents by making meaningful statements within a system of language. Information, therefore, customarily presupposes intelligence, language, and semantics. . . . In general, information is about realizing possibilities by ruling out others. Unless possibilities are ruled out, no information can be conveyed. To say, ‘It’s raining or it’s not raining’ is uninformative precisely because this statement rules out no possibilities. On the other hand, to say, ‘It’s raining’ rules out the possibility ‘It’s not raining’ and therefore conveys information. . . . Writing in the context of human communication, Robert Stalnaker put it this way, ‘To learn something, to acquire information, is to rule out possibilities. To understand the information conveyed in a communication is to know what possibilities would be excluded by its truth.’”

I have shared with documentation in my books that the neural code is a linguistic code by which specified (meaningful) information is transmitted from a source of intelligence to and through the synaptic networks of a receptor’s brain.

What is information? How is it defined? von Baeyer addresses this question. Though it is often claimed that information can be generated by natural selection, it has been emphasized here and in my books that information can only come from a mind. From von Baeyer:

“Etymology offers a clue [to the definition]. ‘Information’, ‘deformation’, conformation’, ‘transformation’, and ‘reformation’ obviously derive from ‘formation’, which, in turn, comes from ‘form’. Information is therefore the infusion of form on some previously unformed entity, just as de-, con-, trans-, and re-formation refer to the undoing, copying, changing, and renewing of forms. Information refers to moulding or shaping a formless heap - imposing a form onto something.”

Our Creator God had infinite options by which to actualize information into all He created and sustains to this day. That He created our universe in three spatial and a single time dimension is evidence that He imposed form from the possibilities so that we see and can live successfully on Earth in our space-time. As I expand on these points it is my hope that information will become a reality that gives glory to the Mind of God.

Specified information with meaning and purpose comes from the Mind of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit in repentant believers. In Proverbs 2:6 we see the reality of the transmission of wisdom, knowledge and understanding to faithful believers: For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

In my books and blogs I have addressed the blessing that we have to hear directly from God through His Holy Spirit, a blessing restored by the grace and love of God through the sin sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

I begin my posts on information with excerpts from the book by Hans Christian von Baeyer, entitled Information: The New Language of Science. Information is neither matter nor energy. It is an entity on its own that precedes both. It emanates from a mind, the ultimate Source being the Mind of God.

von Baeyer discusses the transmission of information by the human brain, a topic I have addressed extensively in my books and in several blog posts:

“Even the brain, which consists of a vast neural network of cells exchanging electrical and chemical signals, turns out to be a powerful processor of information coded [Italics added] for the most part in the form of off-on signals, zeroes and ones.”

Neural codes are instantiated within spike trains of action potentials, corresponding to von Baeyer’s “off-on signals, zeroes and ones.”

Information is a subject not often addressed in the scientific and theological literature, though it is on the increase. I have discussed this topic in both of my books and in many blog posts. I am redirecting my posts to address information, and I emphasize that the Mind of God is the ultimate Source of ALL information. Believers blessed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit have access to information given by the Mind of God.

I close the blog posts taken from T. W. Hunt’s book with his discussion of the Kingdom of God within us:

“The individual with the kingdom within [indwelling] is blessed of God. The kingdom within blesses because it is the source of a deep and undisturbable happiness. The blessing has two main expressions.

“The first is peace. . . . the mind of Christ is an integrated mind, where every factor and facet work together instead of against each other. All parts of the mind are in harmony with one another. Because of that, outer conflict cannot penetrate the peace that makes up that harmony.

“This peace is both a gift and a discipline. The gift is the Holy Spirit’s blessing on the integrated mind. The discipline is that self-control that will not allow foreign thoughts to disquiet the processes of thought. . . . Peace is the birthright of the believer and the fruit of the Spirit.

“The second aspect of the blessing is joy. The highest joy that the redeemed individual can know is ‘the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 13:14). Joy is also a gift and a discipline. This gift also is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The discipline is abiding in Christ. After talking about abiding, He said, ‘These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full’ (John 15:11). We are to abide in Him to have the joy.”

Yes, Satan can still tempt, as Hunt points out, but we can resist him with the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit manifested through our will, our choice. I highly recommend Hunt’s book, The Mind of Christ: The Transforming Power of Thinking His Thoughts.

Hunt clarifies the meaning of the Kingdom of God in Chapter 12 of his book:

“Jesus emphasized that the kingdom of God does not come with outward observance, but rather, ‘the kingdom of God is within you’ (Luke 17:21). That directs us to the mind [soul, will], the area where God wants to work. The changes that He brings in our life are secret and inward, but these changes are likely to bear outward fruit. The outward fruit is only a visible symbol of inner change.

“Jesus said, ‘Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness’ (Matthew 6:33). Seeking the kingdom within, in our heart [soul], must take priority. Our outward witness and our going as missionaries will be ineffective if we are not changed inwardly.”

Hunt shares this important comment about the significance of the anointing of Jesus Christ:

“Another point of [Jesus’] identification is in His authority. Jesus is the Anointed (Psalm 2:2). Since He is in me, my anointing is His indwelling. If He is in me, then the power and wisdom of God dwell in my person (1 Corinthians 1:24).”

Again, I emphasize the duality of communion with the indwelling Holy Spirit, sent as promised by Jesus Christ prior to his sin sacrifice on the cross of crucifixion and fulfilled at Pentecost and to this day. Our human spirit is indwelled by the Holy Spirit, providing for His intimate and personal communion with us in our repentance as it was between God the Father and Jesus Christ while He was on earth. We are blessed with the power and wisdom of God by the indwelling when we abide by His Counsel and Help, growing in the righteousness of Christ. Advances at least to a degree of understanding of the mechanism for dualist interaction via the synaptic networks of the human brain give added credence to this interaction.