Thermostatistics, Information, Subjectivity: Why Is This Association So Disturbing?
- Resource Type
- article
- Authors
- Didier Lairez
- Source
- Mathematics, Vol 12, Iss 10, p 1498 (2024)
- Subject
- thermodynamics
statistical mechanics
information theory
subjectivity
Mathematics
QA1-939
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2227-7390
Although information theory resolves the inconsistencies (known in the form of famous enigmas) of the traditional approach of thermostatistics, its place in the corresponding literature is not what it deserves. This article supports the idea that this is mainly due to epistemological rather than scientific reasons: the subjectivity introduced into physics is perceived as a problem. Here is an attempt to expose and clarify where exactly this subjectivity lies: in the representation of reality and in probabilistic inference, two aspects that have been integrated into the practice of science for a long time and which should no longer frighten anyone but have become explicit with information theory.