Building with/on Howard T. Odum’s theory of information

Abstract

Over a long and renowned career, HT Odum assembled an original body of ecological and energy systems science. Perhaps less well known are his ideas about information. Beginning in an era of information theory and cybernetics, Odum built upon and moved away from many of the trends in information, linking biodiversity and culture to his energy systems principles of maximum empower and hierarchy. What emerged was a unique understanding of what information IS and what it DOES. The first goal of this paper is to piece together Odum’s theory of information from his many writings. The second goal is to attempt to build on this body of ideas to extend its reach, and to build with his ideas in new directions, but in directions that he would recognize to be in his energy systems science tradition. The result will be two proposed corollaries to his Fifth Energy Law, a Hierarchy of Cultural Information, and a Hierarchy of Manufactured Objects.