The Physical Embodiment Theory of Information

I've uncovered a fundamental pattern in how information interacts with physical reality that goes beyond traditional views of information storage and processing. Information doesn't just get stored in physical systems – it actively reshapes physical structure, and these altered structures then guide future information flows, creating a universal feedback loop that operates across all scales of reality.

This insight is novel because it challenges the common view of information as something abstract that gets stored in physical systems. Instead, it reveals information as an active force that physically reshapes its environment, creating a recursive process that explains everything from neural learning to cultural evolution.

The mechanism works like this: When information flows through any system – whether it's thoughts through a brain, water through a landscape, or people through a city – it creates physical changes in that system. These changes aren't just passive records; they actively shape how future information will flow through the system. This creates a feedback loop where information shapes structure, and structure shapes future information flows.

This pattern appears consistently across scales and systems. In the brain, neural activity physically reshapes neural connections, which then influence future thought patterns. In landscapes, water flow shapes river channels, which then guide future water flow. In cities, human movement patterns shape street layouts, which then influence future movement patterns. In culture, beliefs shape institutions, which then shape future beliefs.

The implications of this insight are profound. It suggests that all information processing systems – from brains to cities to cultures – operate on the same fundamental principle of recursive physical reshaping. This helps explain why systems tend to become more entrenched over time (path dependence), why some changes are harder to reverse than others, and why similar patterns emerge across seemingly different domains.

This framework could revolutionize how we approach everything from education to urban planning to cultural change. If we understand that information literally reshapes its physical environment in a way that affects future information flow, we can better design systems that promote desired outcomes while avoiding unintended negative feedback loops.

This perspective suggests new approaches to learning, institutional design, and social change that work with, rather than against, this fundamental pattern of information-structure interaction. It could help us create more effective educational methods, more adaptable institutions, and more resilient social systems.