The specter of information is haunting sciences. With these words, Wojciech H. Zurek invited fellow scientists to attend the 1989 Santa Fe Institute workshop on which this proceedings volume is based. Thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, the quantum theory of measurement, the physics of computation, dynamical systems, molecular biology, and computer science-information remains central to the 32 essays collected in this new edition of Complexity, Entropy & the Physics of Information. Like the original meeting, this two-volume reprint explores the connections between quantum and classical physics, information and its transfer, computation, and their significance for the formulation of physical theories. A newly written introduction from attendee Seth Lloyd contextualizes the significance of this record of a meeting that marked the intersection of information, physics, complexity, and computation.

This book has emerged from a meeting held during the week of May 29 to June 2, 1989, at St. John’s College in Santa Fe under the auspices of the Santa Fe Institute. The (approximately 40) official participants as well as equally numerous “groupies” were enticed to Santa Fe by the above “manifesto.” The book—like the “Complexity, Entropy and the Physics of Information” meeting explores not only the connections between quantum and classical physics, information and its transfer, computation, and their significance for the formulation of physical theories, but it also considers the origins and evolution of the information-processing entities, their complexity, and the manner in which they analyze their perceptions to form models of the Universe. As a result, the contributions can be divided into distinct sections only with some difficulty. Indeed, I regard this degree of overlapping as a measure of the success of the meeting. It signifies consensus about the important questions and on the anticipated answers: they presumably lie somewhere in the “border territory,” where information, physics, complexity, quantum, and computation all meet.

The specter of information is haunting sciences. With these words, Wojciech H. Zurek invited fellow scientists to attend the 1989 Santa Fe Institute workshop on which this proceedings volume is based. Thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, the quantum theory of measurement, the physics of computation, dynamical systems, molecular biology, and computer science-information remains central to the 32 essays collected in this new edition of Complexity, Entropy & the Physics of Information. Like the original meeting, this two-volume reprint explores the connections between quantum and classical physics, information and its transfer, computation, and their significance for the formulation of physical theories. A newly written introduction from attendee Seth Lloyd contextualizes the significance of this record of a meeting that marked the intersection of information, physics, complexity, and computation.

A must have for those with a deep commitment to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy, and information theory.

A very active field of research is emerging at the frontier of statistical physics, theoretical computer science/discrete mathematics, and coding/information theory. This book sets up a common language and pool of concepts, accessible to students and researchers from each of these fields.