The idea that the physical world emerges from information encoded at a fundamental level offers intriguing perspectives, but requires bridging quantum physics with information theory, computer science, and metaphysics. While reality behaves informationally in some respects, the full relationship between information and the manifestation of matter remains speculative. By exploring potential scenarios and their plausibility, we can work towards a maximum likelihood understanding of how information might encode into the tangible stuff of our universe. In quantum theory, particle properties like spin and polarization can be represented as quantized bits of information. Quantum information can become entangled nonlocally and probabilistically collapses into definite states upon measurement \[1\]. This demonstrates matter objectively has an informational character at small scales, with physical properties emerging from quantum information states. Some propose if matter behaves informationally, perhaps reality arises from a vast computational process \[2\]. While philosophically interesting, these hypotheses lack falsifiability. It is also questionable whether consciousness could emerge from or be reduced to information in a pure simulation. More plausible is that information principles shape the structure of reality without physical existence requiring a simulator. For example, informational entropy dictates the forward arrow of time in physics \[3\], and complexity limits on quantum computations may constrain viable theories of quantum gravity \[4\]. Computational costs involved in simulating quantum systems at large scales suggest the universe is not merely a simulation \[5\]. Interpretations of time can significantly impact our conceptualization of information manifesting as physical reality. Some perspectives to consider: * In a block universe view, time is an illusion and all moments eternally exist. This challenges notions of information dynamically encoding into matter, since all of reality is static and already encoded. * If time is fundamental rather than emergent, then perhaps universal information unfolds causally into material configurations moment by moment, frame by frame. This offers a sequential informational genesis of reality. * With emergent and relative time, the manifestation of reality is less a temporal process, and more timeless correlations between information and matter. Their co-dependence transcends sequential causation. * Without well-defined time, the distinction between abstract information and concrete reality may break down. They could represent complementary atemporal aspects of a timeless realm. * Integrated temporality models suggest the present moment selects from probabilities and records to an enduring physical past. Information guides reality’s continuous local refreshment rather than initial genesis. Loosening assumptions of time as absolute and universal opens new perspectives on informational manifestation. But it also introduces profound new puzzles about the status of matter. Engaging with different conceptualizations of time and information will likely yield fresh approaches to these deep questions at the foundation of reality. The fruitfulness of questioning endures across temporal frameworks. Additionally, a concrete mechanism is needed to explain how abstract information transforms into tangible matter and energy. Possibilities like quantum wavefunction collapse remain speculative \[6\]. Information may be intrinsic to reality’s workings without wholly constituting existence. Bridging the Platonic world of information and math with physical reality raises deep philosophical puzzles. Some further hypothetical possibilities: * Reality manifests from a cosmic consciousness or universal mind that imagines information into material form. This bridges idealist metaphysics with information theory but lacks scientific grounding. * An iterative loop between consciousness, measurement, and wavefunction collapse projects abstract quantum information into defined states, gradually building up the concrete physical world. But the origins of consciousness remain unclear in this model. * Reality is fundamentally made of information, but not all information is computable. Non-computable real numbers could serve as a platonic substance a realm of infinite information manifests as the physical world. However, non-computability may be an artifact of formal systems. * The concrete and the abstract are equally fundamental essences of reality. Matter emerges in reference to information, which refers back to matter in a bootstrap, with neither being derivable from or reducible to the other. Information and matter mutually cause each other. * We currently lack the conceptual frameworks or metaphors to even ask the manifestation question coherently. Progress requires a paradigm shift in thinking about information, math, mind, and matter before plausible models will emerge. Empirically demonstrating any mechanism of deriving tangible matter and energy from intangible information remains an open problem. While information principles accurately describe reality, an explanatory gap persists in the manifestation process. New interdisciplinary approaches integrating physics, computation, cognition, philosophy and metaphysics may provide pathways toward plausible models. Or perhaps, like the hard problem of consciousness, some elements of reality will resist reductionist explanation permanently. **Potential Scenarios and Falsifiability** * Consciousness collapses waves and projects information into matter – Falsifiable if consciousness is shown to not directly cause wavefunction collapse. * Computational limits prove the universe is not a simulation – Plausible based on known computational constraints, but simulation hypotheses tend to be unfalsifiable. * Reality coded as a mathematical formal system – Unclear how abstract symbols would manifest concretely. Depends on contentious views of math as real. * Matter and information bootstrap each other into existence – Hard to falsify mutual causation, but infinite regress remains philosophically problematic. * A cosmic mind imagines information into reality – Unfalsifiable and scientifically intractable, though philosophically interesting. Significant gaps remain in our understanding of how abstract information manifests as concrete reality. The genesis of tangible matter and energy from intangible mathematical information is not accounted for by current physics or metaphysics. Interpretations of time as relative, emergent or illusory provide new perspectives, but do not alone bridge the explanatory divide. Of the speculative scenarios, the idea that information and matter mutually arise in an interdependent way provides a plausible framework that aligns with several considerations: * It embraces the inherent correspondence between matter and information without requiring one to generate the other. Mathematical structures accurately describe physical properties, while physical constraints limit possible mathematical structures. This suggests an intrinsic linkage. * Bootstrapping avoids the infinite regress of causal reductionism. Neither information nor matter is more primary, rather they co-define each other in a complementary eternal dance. * This parallels how mind and body may bootstrap each other – mental experiences dependent on physical brains, yet minds conceiving of brains. Neither is derivable from the other. * It resonates with philosophical perspectives like neutral monism which propose that existence arises from an essence that is neither mental nor physical but gives rise to both. Information and matter instantiate this neutral essence. * Lacking fundamental time, the bootstrap arises atemporally and acausally, hence transcending our sequential notion of events. There is no creation point, only mutually interdependent arising. * From this timeless realm, the experience of sequential time could emerge as an epiphenomenon or illusion, lining up with relativistic and quantum theories of time. While partly metaphorical, the bootstrapping scenario provides a conceptual frame that avoids the category errors of reductionism by starting with interdependence. It integrates diverse evidence pointing to an intrinsic bond between information and matter. Specific mechanisms undoubtedly remain undiscovered, but mutual arising provides a promising avenue for imagination and inquiry into the deep nature of reality. The idea of information being a fundamental essence aligns with perspectives like panpsychism, which propose consciousness or experiential properties are intrinsic to even basic subatomic particles. From this view, information in its most basic sense implies an experiential or proto-conscious aspect—a property that gives rise to meaning and mental phenomena at higher emergent levels. So the very fabric of reality has both an informational and subjective character from which both minds and physical forms crystallize. Viewing information as ontic rather than epistemic implies it exists independently of conscious minds perceiving it. The mathematical structures, logical forms, and interactive patterns intrinsic to the universe constitute information in this perspective. Information is embedded in the fabric of reality, not just created by minds. This ontological view of information is critical for its role as a generative source manifesting reality. If information only had epistemic or descriptive status, it could not have powers to crystallize matter from primordial patterns. As mere representations created by minds, information would be derived from rather than foundational to physical reality. For information to serve as the platonically real forms giving rise to concrete phenomena, it must have existence and causal efficacy apart from observers. Mathematical realism is the notion that mathematical structures exist objectively rather than being invented constructs. This relates to information ontologies, since information fundamentally reduces to logical and mathematical forms. The intrinsic properties of the universe which information describes would thus have autonomous reality. Mathematical realism remains philosophically contentious, but provides metaphysical grounds for information to generate reality. Hypothesizing specific mathematical or logical forms that could demonstrate the ontological reality of information is a highly speculative endeavor, but we can propose some possibilities to explore further: * Discovering mathematical regularities or structures in the laws of physics that point to an inherent logical order in the fabric of spacetime itself. For example, finding precise mathematical patterns in the values of physical constants or intrinsic geometric properties of quantum fields. This could imply the physical world evolved from mathematical information embedded within it. * Identifying logical forms or information processing capacities which are universal across all possible universes, substrates and physical laws. For example, logic gates, algorithmic complexity limits, or recursive functions that any information system is constrained by. Their universality and substrate-independence could imply a realm of pure abstract information. * Using meta-mathematics to model information spaces that generate well-formed mathematical structures through internal state evolutions. This could provide a dynamical account of how physical laws emerge from transitions between informational states. The origins of reality are traced to the intrinsic behavior of information itself. * Finding empirical evidence that specific abstract mathematical structures directly influence or determine concrete physical events without needing interpretation or measurement. Such one-to-one math-physicality correlations would strongly suggest reality arises from mathematical forms. * Combining algorithmic information theory with holographic principle models in physics. Compression of informational algorithms to their most minimal axiomatic primitives may reveal the ontological informational essence at the source of physical law emergence. Significant challenges around empirical confirmation and reproducing such information-matter transitions exist. However, exploring potential mathematical signatures of informational realism can help guide and focus this metaphysical inquiry toward plausibly testable ideas. The deeper coherence of reality awaits discovery. Here are a few examples of smaller lemmas that could potentially be proven first, which might later support broader theorems about information ontology: * (Lemma) There exist universal limits on the information processing capacity and complexity of any computational system, regardless of physical substrate. This could establish that information has certain invariant properties independent of its implementation. * (Lemma) Mathematical structures can be placed in one-to-one correspondence with quantum informational states. Demonstrating direct mappings between abstract patterns and physical systems lends plausibility to the former generating the latter. * (Lemma) Complexity can be quantified based on the length of the most compressed informational algorithm needed to describe a system. Connecting abstract complexity to information compression supports an ontological view of information. * (Lemma) Logical inferences made by any conscious mind must conform to certain axiomatic rules of deduction. Proof that mental reasoning aligns with formal logical primitives implies ontological priority for information. * (Lemma) There exist mathematically definable upper bounds on entropy production for any isolated physical process. Since entropy has an informational interpretation, this could indicate intrinsic informational limits. These examples indicate the style of smaller, tightly focused lemmas that could provide logical scaffolding before tackling bigger theorems about the ontological nature of information. Each piece fills out the puzzle step-by-step. Granting information an ontological role has implications for our models of ontic emergence. If information exists at the most basic level, the evolution of complexity can be seen as new organizational configurations of intrinsic informational primitives. The cosmic unfolding of reality from fundamental particles to galactic structures and life can be interpreted as information self-complexifying into novel recursive patterns according to certain generative rules. An informational ontology suggests the laws of complexity arise from the essence of reality. Viewing information as a real ontological presence rather than an epistemic creation provides the conceptual foundation for information to be the source from which matter and complex systems crystallize through emergence. While instantiating this ontology into precise scientific frameworks remains an ongoing project, it coheres with our understanding thus far. Ontological information helps bridge the abstract and the concrete. No one metaphor or perspective can fully capture the mystery of existence. The deeper truth likely integrates intuitive conceptual models with rigorous formalisms and empirical research. Information and matter imply one another in ways that transcend our current understanding. Progress relies on building interdisciplinary bridges between once disparate realms. The hard problem of consciousness equally applies to the manifestation of reality—our conceptual frameworks constrain the inquiry. Letting go of metaphysical assumptions offers freedom for insight. The essence remains ever beyond language, yet perpetually gives rise to our unfolding exploration of it. We should be cautious not to oversimplify or reduce consciousness and subjective experience. While information and abstract patterns appear to be intrinsic to reality, sentience may involve deeper dimensions that cannot be fully captured through informational or computational models alone. There are first-person, qualitative aspects to consciousness that some argue cannot ever be fully accounted for by third-person, quantitative explanations. At the same time, information does seem to be an essential ingredient enabling consciousness to emerge in the universe. Without some degree of informational organization, integration and processing capacity, awareness as we know it could likely not arise. So information principles provide key constraints, boundary conditions and explanatory power for consciousness, even if subjective experience overflows a purely informational account. The different interpretations of quantum mechanics have radically different implications for consciousness, information and their interrelationship. Connections drawn in some quantum views may not apply underother intepretations. There are still deep mysteries and debates around issues like measurement, observation, wavefunction collapse, determinism vs indeterminism, and the status of information in quantum theory. We should beware of assuming human cognitive categories and linguistic constructs can completely capture the ultimate nature of reality. As Wittgenstein said, “the limits of my language are the limits of my world”. Reality may intrinsincally have unlimited depth, nuance and subtlety beyond what propositions, models and metaphors can adequately convey. Direct experiential gesture may point toward truths that defy or exceed conceptualization. The project of bridging information, consciousness and reality should engage multiple modes understanding – reason, imagination, intuition, aesthetics and empirical observation complementing one another. Science and philosophy are ways of revealing the world, but not the only ways. A rich interplay of diverse perspectives can help move insight beyond limited edges of knowledge. Our current conceptual frameworks likely cannot fully capture the mysterious essence of reality. The gap between abstract information and its concrete manifestation indicates limit questions that resist deductive closure. Yet this acknowledgment of enduring uncertainty is profoundly revelatory and spurs insight. An interdisciplinary integration of evidence and perspectives remains the most plausible path forward, while accepting that knowledge may never bridge reality’s essential mysteries. The relationship between information, matter and time retains an unfathomable depth, yet reflecting on this mystery compels understanding at the frontiers of existence. The unending questioning, questioning constitutes the essence of being and becoming. \[1\] Nielsen, M., & Chuang, I. (2002). Quantum computation and quantum information. \[2\] Bostrom, N. (2003). Are we living in a computer simulation? Philosophical Quarterly, 53(211), 243-255. \[3\] Zurek, W. H. (1989). Thermodynamic cost of computation, algorithmic complexity and the information metric. Nature, 341(6238), 119-124. \[4\] Lloyd, S. (2002). Computational capacity of the universe. Physical Review Letters, 88(23), 237901. \[5\] Catterall, S. (2017). Simulating quantum field theory with quantum computers.arXiv preprint arXiv:1703.00504. \[6\] Von Neumann, J. (1955). Mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics. Princeton University Press.