Year: 2007
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: What is information? Is it physical? We argue that in a Bayesian theory the notion of information must be defined in terms of its effects on the beliefs of rational agents. Information is whatever constrains rational beliefs and therefore it is the force that induces us to change our minds. This problem of updating from a prior to a posterior probability distribution is tackled through an eliminative induction process that singles out the logarithmic relative entropy as the unique tool for inference. The resulting method of Maximum relative Entropy (ME), which is designed for updating from arbitrary priors given information in the form of arbitrary constraints, includes as special cases both MaxEnt (which allows arbitrary constraints) and Bayes' rule (which allows arbitrary priors). Thus, ME unifies the two themes of these workshops—the Maximum Entropy and the Bayesian methods—into a single general inference scheme that allows us to handle problems that lie beyond the reach of either of the two methods separately. I conclude with a couple of simple illustrative examples.
Source: AIP conference proceedings
DOI: 10.1063/1.2821253
Authors: Ariel Caticha, Kevin H. Knuth, Ariel Caticha, Adom Giffin, Carlos C. Rodríguez
Institution: University at Albany, State University of New York
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2116733989