Jeffery Mullins replied:
>>If the information content in DNA is similar to a meaningful language as
some have said, then I think the answer to your question is yes.<<
I would like to point out a mathematical reality in regards to DNA sequences
and radio signals from little green men. In information theory there is a
measure of how complex a sequence is based upon how much the sequence can be
compressed by an algorithm. A highly ordered sequence
(oaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoa....) can be represented by a very short algorithm. (For 1
to N: (print"01"): next)
However, a highly ordered sequence contains no information to speak of. A
sequence which has lots of information
(thecyclotronacceleratedtheelectrons...) requires a long algorithm to
represent it. This is called highly organized.
Now the interesting thing is that from an information theory perspective, it
is fundamentally undecidable whether a given string has information or is
merely random.
Hubert Yockey writes:
"Thus both random sequences and higly organized sequences are complex because
a long algorithm is needed to describe each one. Information theory shows
that it is *fundamentally undecidable* whether a given sequence has been
generated by a stochastic process or by a highly organized process. This is
in contrast with the classical law of the excluded middle (tertium non
datur), that is, the doctrine that a statement or theorem must be either true
or false. Algorithmic information theory shows that truth or validity may
also be indeterminate or fundamentally undecidable." _Information Theory and
Molecular Biology_ Cambridge University Press, 1992, p. 82
With a radio signal from space, if we do not KNOW the message, we can not be
sure that there IS a message. It is fundamentally undecidable. The only
thing we can do is to characterize the strength and complexity of the signal.
A DNA sequence with a lot of information in it, even purposely written
information
This ought to get a good one going. :-)
glenn