Several sources lay out arguments for information as the basis of reality, offering a lineage of thought you can incorporate into a larger work. Here are some key articles and concepts, presented in a potential order of development: * **John Wheeler's "It from Bit" proposal**: Several sources reference **John Wheeler's radical idea that information is the most basic element of reality, and that matter and energy arise from information**. This concept, summarized by the phrase "it from bit," suggests that everything in the universe derives from binary information bits (qubits at the quantum level) rather than a pre-existing material world. Wheeler highlighted quantum phenomena like non-local correlations and the measurement problem as evidence for this view and advocated for a participatory universe shaped by observers. This foundational idea, though speculative and controversial, has significantly influenced subsequent information-centric perspectives. * **The Universe as a Quantum Computer**: Building on Wheeler's ideas, **Seth Lloyd proposed the concept of the universe as a "quantum computer,"** where each particle continuously processes information about its state, and the laws of physics emerge from this quantum-scale information processing. This view further solidifies the idea of information as a fundamental process underlying reality. * **The Holographic Principle**: This principle, developed by physicists like Gerard 't Hooft and Leonard Susskind, models how all the information about a 3D volume of space can be encoded on a 2D boundary surface, similar to a hologram. Several sources mention the holographic principle as suggesting that information is more fundamental than spacetime itself and that the physical universe might emerge from an informational structure. This concept provides a concrete framework for how information might encode physical reality. * **Digital Physics**: This perspective, mentioned in several sources, proposes that the universe is fundamentally computational at its core, processing digital information as its foundation. This aligns with the "it from bit" idea and the universe-as-computer analogy, suggesting that simple informational processing rules could give rise to the complexity of the observed universe. * **Quantum Information Ontology (QIO)**: The article titled "Quantum Information Ontology (QIO)" explicitly argues for **quantum information as the fundamental building block of the universe**. It distinguishes itself from other information-theoretic approaches by specifically emphasizing the foundational role of *quantum* information. The article suggests "Quantum Information Ontology" is the most suitable term to describe this concept based on clarity, comprehensiveness, uniqueness, simplicity, and consistency. * **Informational Universe Hypothesis (IUH)**: This hypothesis proposes that the universe is fundamentally composed of information and that the laws of physics emerge from the processing of this information. The IUH emphasizes the dynamic and computational nature of reality, suggesting information is the primary substance. Consciousness, in this framework, arises from the processing of fundamental information. * **Holistic Information Theory (HIT)**: While primarily focused on consciousness, HIT, as discussed in "Quantum Information Ontology (QIO)" and other sources, draws upon the idea that information may be the fundamental basis of reality. It aims to explain consciousness through the integration of information across multiple levels, potentially connecting quantum information processing to neural activity. * **Exploring the Informational Layers of Reality**: The article with this title delves into philosophies like metaphysical idealism and neutral monism, which posit reality as fundamentally informational or having a neutral essence from which both information and matter emerge. It suggests a potential causal relationship where information is antecedent to physical structure and intersects with consciousness. * **The Universe Is Information**: The two articles with titles or excerpts referencing this idea ["Every(Where/Thing/One): The Universe Is Information", "The Universe is Information (Vol 1)"] directly support the notion of an information-based cosmos. They suggest that the fundamental building blocks of reality may be informational threads, challenging traditional views of matter and energy as primary. The evolution of information technology is presented as a parallel to our evolving understanding of the universe as an information system. * **An information theoretic approach to the universe**: This article explicitly explores the idea that information is fundamental to the universe, outlining hypotheses such as "it from bit," the universe as a quantum computer, the holographic principle, and the fundamentality of entanglement entropy. This lineage shows a progression from the initial philosophical proposal of "it from bit" to more concrete theoretical frameworks like the holographic principle and the development of specific ontologies like QIO and hypotheses like the IUH. The exploration of these ideas continues to evolve, with ongoing research seeking to understand the precise role and nature of information at the fundamental level of reality. You can draw upon these key articles and concepts to build a detailed argument for information as the basis of reality in your larger work.