Why Information Grows summary

What is the universe made of? Fundamentally, the universe is comprised of matter, energy and information.

But there is something else going on that is inherent to the universe: a constant battle between chaos and order.

So we’ve learned that our universe in general tends toward entropy. The planet Earth, however, is unique in that it is rich with information – order here is more dominant than entropy.

But why exactly would this be the case?

Humans are unique in that we accumulate information. We do this by creating products, essentially changing the arrangement of atoms to improve our knowledge of the world.

The products we create and use everyday embody information; some grant us immediate practical knowledge. For example, if you buy a smartphone, you accumulate both the practical knowledge of how to use the device to access information from the internet and make calls, and at least the partial knowledge of how the device was made and what it’s made of.

You’ve probably been here before: you’ve a tough exam coming up, and you study for days on end until it feels as if your brain is about to explode.

But why do we feel so overwhelmed after trying to cram our brains full of information? In essence, it’s because we can only remember and understand a limited amount of knowledge.

Building a network takes a lot of effort. But in recent decades, networks have grown considerably and have established links worldwide. So why is networking easier today than it was in the past?

This is due primarily to the existence of global languages. Whereas in the past people spoke many different local languages, today global languages like English, Spanish, French or Chinese allow people to efficiently communicate, often without the need for a translator.

Have you ever wondered why some countries become wealthy while others seem to wallow in poverty? How can we have on one side the super-rich, benefiting from the latest technology and living well, while on the other side the poor make do with substandard living conditions.

In part, this has to do with networks.