Claude Shannon's information theory laid the foundation for the modern internet. Shannon believed that information is something used to reduce uncertainty and is unrelated to the meaning represented by the information itself. This perspective emphasizes the transmission and encoding of information, allowing any information to flow freely on the internet.
However, Norbert Wiener believed that information is not just a collection of signals; it also contains meaning. Wiener's information theory focuses more on the role of information in human society, emphasizing that information is an important component of communication between people, containing rich meanings and values.
The emergence of Bitcoin seems to provide us with insights on how to transform the meaninglessness of Shannon's information internet into the meaningful trust-value internet of Wiener. Bitcoin is essentially a system based on Shannon's information theory, converting meaningless information into meaningful information through the Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism. The PoW mechanism is similar to the thermodynamic work process, converting disordered energy into ordered structures. The Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) in Bitcoin is a type of meaningful information that records the transaction history and ownership relationships of Bitcoin, becoming the foundation of trust.
When designing Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto cleverly utilized the UTXO structure and combined it with the PoW mechanism to achieve the transformation from a meaningless information internet to a meaningful trust-value internet. UTXO is similar to currency in the real world, where each transaction must have a clear source and destination, ensuring traceability and transparency of transactions. At the same time, the PoW mechanism guarantees the uniqueness and immutability of UTXO through competition in computing power, thus establishing the foundation of trust.
Satoshi Nakamoto's design concept points us in a deterministic direction: how can we emerge a trust-value internet (world) based on Shannon's meaningless information theory composed internet into the meaningful information theory of Wiener?
To achieve this goal, we need:
Using technologies such as blockchain to transform information on the internet into UTXO structures with clear meanings and values.
Ensuring the uniqueness and immutability of UTXO through PoW or other consensus mechanisms, establishing the foundation of trust.
Building an open, transparent, and secure network environment where people can freely exchange and use these meaningful pieces of information.
Through thermodynamic work, transforming the meaningless and disordered Shannon information theory internet into a meaningful, ordered, and vibrant value network of Wiener information theory.
Through the above steps, we can transform Shannon's meaningless information internet into a meaningful information internet filled with trust and value, achieving a true trust-value internet.
