E = M = I: Energy Differential as Ontological Ground -- On the Physical Cost of Distinction and the Unity of Energy,Matter,and Information
Abstract
Wheeler's 'It from Bit' places information at the base of physical reality. But Landauer's principle shows that erasing one bit costs kT ln2 joules. If information is primitive, what pays this cost?This asymmetry is the starting point of the present paper. I argue that the energy differential Delta E is the appropriate ontological primitive, because Delta E is the only quantity that is both universal and physically accessible. From this I derive a unified definition of information: information is any distinction that produces physical effects. Every physically real distinction is co-constituted with Delta E (Landauer, Casimir), and every Delta E != 0 constitutes a distinction between physical states. The definition generates three layers in a spiral recursive structure: I_1 (distinction = Delta E, physical layer, nodes 1-3),I_2 (stable distinction = matter, structural layer, nodes 4-6),and I_3 (encoded transmissible distinction, conceptual layer,nodes 7-9). The nine nodes are not independent proofs of E=M=I-- each node is an instantiation of E=M=I at its own scale.The ontological order Delta E -> M -> I_3 resolves the apparent conflict between Wheeler (information-first) and Aristotle (matter-first) frameworks. Three falsifiable predictions are identified and limitations are discussed explicitly. Version 2.0: Spiral Recursive Framework.
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BibTeX
@misc{chen2026energy,
title = {{E = M = I: Energy Differential as Ontological Ground -- On the Physical Cost of Distinction and the Unity of Energy,Matter,and Information}},
author = {Yunjing Chen},
howpublished = {OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20425935},
url = {https://osf.io/drcjk},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - E = M = I: Energy Differential as Ontological Ground -- On the Physical Cost of Distinction and the Unity of Energy,Matter,and Information
AU - Yunjing Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/28
PB - OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
DO - 10.5281/zenodo.20425935
UR - https://osf.io/drcjk
AB - Wheeler's 'It from Bit' places information at the base of physical reality. But Landauer's principle shows that erasing one bit costs kT ln2 joules. If information is primitive, what pays this cost?This asymmetry is the starting point of the present paper. I argue that the energy differential Delta E is the appropriate ontological primitive, because Delta E is the only quantity that is both universal and physically accessible. From this I derive a unified definition of information: information is any distinction that produces physical effects. Every physically real distinction is co-constituted with Delta E (Landauer, Casimir), and every Delta E != 0 constitutes a distinction between physical states. The definition generates three layers in a spiral recursive structure: I_1 (distinction = Delta E, physical layer, nodes 1-3),I_2 (stable distinction = matter, structural layer, nodes 4-6),and I_3 (encoded transmissible distinction, conceptual layer,nodes 7-9). The nine nodes are not independent proofs of E=M=I-- each node is an instantiation of E=M=I at its own scale.The ontological order Delta E -> M -> I_3 resolves the apparent conflict between Wheeler (information-first) and Aristotle (matter-first) frameworks. Three falsifiable predictions are identified and limitations are discussed explicitly. Version 2.0: Spiral Recursive Framework.
ER -