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May 2
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R. Toney Brooks, PhD's avatar

Thank you for your comment, Jerzy. For readers unfamiliar with John Wheeler's work, let's recap a few critical points. His framework posits a radical inversion of classical ontology, where information and observation are foundational to reality's existence and structure.

At the quantum level, particles exist as indeterminate superpositions until measured, collapsing into definite states through yes/no questions ("bits") that generate the physical world. This exemplifies Wheeler's famous "it from bit" doctrine, asserting that all physical things ("it") ultimately derive from answers to yes-no questions ("bit"). This "participatory universe" implies observers are not passive but active contributors.

Crucially, information precedes energy and matter in Wheeler's ontology. Energy and particles are emergent from informational exchanges, meaning a "pure energy" universe is ontologically incomplete - it lacks the feedback loop where observers collapse possibilities into tangible reality.

Wheeler's universe is a self-referential dialogue where information creates observers, and observers create information - a cosmic symbiosis that precludes the possibility of a "pure energy" reality divorced from a feedforward - feedback mechanism.

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