In the Beginning was Information

5. The organ playing robot: Would it be possible for a robot toplay an organ? In Figure 5 we see exactly this. This Japaneserobot, called Vasubot, even enthrals Music lovers. It has two handsand two feet which are able to manipulate the manuals and the pedals,and it reads sheet music by means of a video camera. The notesare then converted to the required hand and foot motions. Thisrobot can read and play any piece of music immediately withoutfirst having to practise it. The reason for this ability is the informationgiven in a program, together with all the required mechanisms.If the program is removed, the robot cannot do anything. Again weobserve that information is the essential ingredient.Consequences: After having considered a few very diverse systems,we may conclude that the built-in information is the common factor.None of these systems could operate if the stored information wasdeleted. For a better understanding of processes occurring in livingas well as in inanimate systems, we have to study the concept ofinformation in detail. A professor of informatics at Dortmund brieflyformulated a basic theorem, with which we could agree 2 :“Anybody who can identify the source of information, has thekey for understanding this world.”(or: “He who can give an account of the origin of informationholds in his hands the key to interpret this world.”)The book “The Character of Physical Law”, by the Americanphysicist Richard P. Feynman, may be regarded as a classic in thefield of physics. The following is quoted from its preface [F1,p 172]: “The age in which we live is the age in which we are discoveringthe fundamental laws of nature, and that day will nevercome again.” In the field of physics most laws have probably beendiscovered and formulated since then. However, in regard to thefundamental quantity information, we are still squarely in theprocess of discovery. Based on previous work [G4, G5, G7, G8,2 However, I would like to add the following condition. It is not clear from thestatement whether God is referred to, or whether He is excluded. The question ofthe source of the information is acknowledged to be of fundamental importance,but even if the question about the source of the information has been answeredlogically correctly, one would not be able to really understand this world withoutacknowledging the Spirit of God. If the Bible really is the Book of Truth, as statedin many ways (e. g John 17:17), then it is the key for understanding the world.19