The quantum does not reduce to discrete bits

There is no way to reduce physics to information theory. Matter is not just empty space with isolated bits of information. The quantum is not digital data, logic, probability, or information. There is a long history of trying to understand the ethereal mysteries of quantum mechanics by reduction to discrete information, as if the universe were a giant ghostly digital computer without the hardware. These attempts have failed, and should be seen as evasions of the central truths of quantum mechanics. In short, there is no it from bit. Submitted to the FQXi.org 2013 Essay Contest answering: “It from Bit or Bit from It?” Author Bio: Roger Schlafly has a BSE from Princeton U, and a PhD in Mathematics from U California Berkeley, under I. Singer. He blogs at DarkBuzz.com. Introduction Physics is the study of matter and energy, but the suggestion has been made that information is more fundamental. I consider different ways in which physics might be reduced to bits of information, but argue that none of these is more fundamental than quantum mechanics. Matter is not empty space The history of science could be viewed as systematically denying the substantiality of matter. The ancient Greek philosopher Democritus suggested that matter is made of atoms. Two millennia later, determination of the size of atoms indicated that there was vast empty space between atoms. When the atom was probed a century ago, it turned out to be mostly empty space, with the mass concentrated in a small nucleus. There were electrons in orbitals, but the electrons appear to be just point particles with no width or volume. When the nuclear forces became understood via the Standard Model, the nucleus itself appeared to be mostly empty space. Even the proton turns out to be mostly empty space, as it is composed of three quarks, and each quark is just a point particle. It is now commonplace to say that modern physics has proved that there is no such thing as solid matter because it is almost entirely empty space. For example, a recent Radiolab broadcast said: It's comforting to think that if you take an object — a rock, let's say — and break it down into tinier and tinier more elemental parts, that that's exactly what you end up with: smaller and smaller particles until you reach the smallest. And voila! Those are the building blocks of everything around us. But as Jim Holt, author of “Why Does the World Exist?” points out ... that's an old worldview that no longer jives with modern-day science. If you start slicing and sleuthing in subatomic particle land — trying to get to the bottom of what makes