What Is Information Structure?

Source: Dev.to

Humans as Information

If humans are composed of information structures, then all interactions can be seen as handling information. Communication between people is an exchange of information. When a person reads a book, comprehends its content, and then acts on it, the process involves receiving, interpreting, and executing information.

All matter inherently possesses information structures. Even sunlight is first perceived as information (light) before its heat is felt. By analyzing the received information structures, we can infer the structures present in the source.

The Apple Example

Consider a single apple that is cut in half. Conceptually, the apple becomes “two” as an information state when its identity (the name “apple”) is divided. Until the information is divided, the apple remains a single entity, even if physically split. Information structures allow the two halves to exist conceptually before the physical act of cutting. Once divided, the apple rarely returns to a single whole.

Physical Phenomena as Information

When we quantify physical phenomena, we are accessing the underlying information structure of the physical world. Humans perceive only an abstraction of these structures through the senses or measuring instruments, meaning we can access only part of the information inherent in matter.

Identity, Authority, Authentication

A driver’s license illustrates the three related information structures:

• Identity – name, birth date, photo (representing the person)
• Authority – permission, e.g., the right to drive a car
• Authentication – presentation to an external entity, e.g., a police officer

Each element alone has little meaning; together they form a functional whole. Although a driver’s license is often treated as a single object, it is actually a collection of three distinct information structures. Identity alone is just a label, but the combination demonstrates how humans unconsciously embed and utilize information structures in society.

Applying Information Structures to Security

Separating identity and authority physically can enhance security. When the parts are separated, they appear unusable, but principles such as Zero Trust ensure secure reconnection when needed. This separation is highly effective, provided reconnection remains convenient for the user.

Identity in information structures behaves similarly to electrons in physics: it can change instantaneously while retaining structural integrity, but it cannot be arbitrarily modified. Unlike electrons, which exist in large numbers, each information structure has a singular identity. Duplicating an identity creates conflicting structures, breaking its singularity. Consequently, there is one identity per information structure, not per physical structure. This property can be leveraged to create information structures that cannot be copied.

Just as electrons occupy specific orbits, identity requires an “authority orbit” to manifest as authentication. Authentication presents this structure to the outside world. While information is dynamic, identity retains its essence. The relationship among identity, authority, and authentication mirrors the relationship among electrons, orbitals, and measurement in physics.

Physical Carriers

Information structures cannot exist in isolation; they require a physical medium—hardware, a body, paper, or a device—to manifest. Exceptions occur when information structures are carried by light (photons), suggesting that the minimal unit for carrying information may be light itself.

These structures remain largely unrecognized, yet humans use them unconsciously in all sensory perception and communication. They are invisible but consistently manifest in actions and conversations. Because they are not tangible entities but the underlying rules of phenomena, their nonexistence cannot be proven.

Various fields are beginning to acknowledge the presence of information structures, making this a cutting‑edge topic. Whether information or matter comes first is less important than understanding the structures that humans unconsciously employ. Exploring information structures is fundamental to human evolution.