This work introduces the foundations of an observer-dependent informational theory of physics.Rather than proposing a closed or final model, the paper establishes the conceptual and methodological architecture of a unified research program in which physical phenomena are described through observer-accessible informational states. The theory treats the observer as an integral component of physical description, rather than as an external disturbance or purely abstract entity.Information is defined operationally, as a relational construct linking observation, structure, and temporal coherence. The paper does not present new mathematical derivations.Instead, it provides a stable foundational framework that unifies a set of modular technical works, each addressing specific physical, cognitive, or interpretative problems. Mathematical formulations, empirical models, and testable predictions are delegated to the corresponding modular papers, allowing the theory to evolve through falsification and refinement without requiring repeated foundational revision. This contribution is intended as a foundational reference for an evolving observer-centered informational approach to physics.
This work introduces the foundations of an observer-dependent informational theory of physics.Rather than proposing a closed or final model, the paper establishes the conceptual and methodological architecture of a unified research program in which physical phenomena are described through observer-accessible informational states. The theory treats the observer as an integral component of physical description, rather than as an external disturbance or purely abstract entity.Information is defined operationally, as a relational construct linking observation, structure, and temporal coherence. The paper does not present new mathematical derivations.Instead, it provides a stable foundational framework that unifies a set of modular technical works, each addressing specific physical, cognitive, or interpretative problems. Mathematical formulations, empirical models, and testable predictions are delegated to the corresponding modular papers, allowing the theory to evolve through falsification and refinement without requiring repeated foundational revision. This contribution is intended as a foundational reference for an evolving observer-centered informational approach to physics.
Modern physics has achieved extraordinary predictive success, yet it continues to face unresolved conceptual tensions concerning the role of the observer, the nature of information, and the origin of physical structure. From quantum measurement to cosmology, the assumption of an observer-neutral reality increasingly appears insufficient to fully account for empirical phenomena and theoretical inconsistencies. This manifesto proposes an Informational Observer-Centered Framework, in which information is treated as a fundamental ontological substrate and observation as an active, structured process rather than a passive act of measurement. Within this perspective, physical systems, observers, and informational exchanges form a unified dynamics, where state reduction, decoherence, and emergent classicality arise from informational interactions and constraints. Rather than introducing a new closed theory, this manifesto establishes a conceptual foundation unifying several complementary models—including Informational State Dynamics, observer-dependent informational compression, and informational interpretations of quantum and cosmological phenomena—into a coherent research program. The framework is explicitly non-dogmatic, open to falsification, and intended as a guiding structure for further theoretical development and empirical testing. The aim of this document is not to replace existing physical theories, but to clarify their conceptual boundaries and propose an integrative lens through which unresolved problems in quantum foundations, cosmology, and cognitive systems may be systematically explored.
The Informational Observer proposes a unified informational framework in which perception, measurement, and experienced reality emerge from the compression and reconstruction processes performed by observers. Instead of treating reality as an external, fixed entity, the model defines reality as the intersection of informational invariants preserved across multiple independent observers. Each biological, artificial, or simulated observer applies a compression operator to the underlying informational field and reconstructs an internal model shaped by priors, limitations, and energetic constraints.This framework explains perceptual variability across species, hallucinations in artificial and biological systems, observer-dependent measurement, and stability of physical laws. The model integrates cognitive science, AI interpretability, quantum contextuality, and simulation theory into a single informational principle, expanding the author’s Informational State Dynamics (ISD) framework. It introduces a general mechanism capable of unifying cross-domain phenomena through informational transformations. This work introduces The Informational Observer, a theoretical framework describing perception, measurement, and reality as the result of informational transformations performed by observing systems. The observer is conceptualized not as a passive receiver of sensory input, but as a compression system that selectively reduces the informational field into internal representations and reconstructs coherent experiential states. The model formalizes this process through two operators: Cᵢ (Compression): reduction of the informational field Ψᵢ (Reconstruction): predictive reconstruction of the compressed state Reality is defined as the set of informational invariants found in the intersection of reconstructions produced by different observers: Reality = ⋂ Ψᵢ(Cᵢ(I₀)) This perspective unifies phenomena that traditionally belong to different scientific domains: perceptual variability (human, animal, artificial systems) hallucinations and confabulation sensory filtering and cognitive priors observer-dependent physics and measurement nested or simulated universes informational emergence of the “self” The Informational Observer extends the author’s Informational State Dynamics (ISD) model and provides a foundation for future research in AI interpretability, cognitive modeling, neuroscientific theory, and information-based physics.
This paper introduces the Foundations of Informational State Dynamics (ISD), a minimal observer-relative framework in which physical and cognitive states are described as informational configurations constrained by evidence accessibility and record stability. Within ISD, state transitions correspond to informational conditioning rather than intrinsic physical dynamics, providing a unified account of definite outcomes, temporal ordering, and effective stabilization across observer-dependent phenomena. The framework is empirically neutral and fully compatible with standard physical theories, offering a foundational informational substrate that integrates quantum measurement, nonlocal correlations, and observer-relative descriptions without modifying the formalism of quantum mechanics.
This work proposes a minimal informational perspective on physical observability. Instead of treating spacetime and physical states as fundamentally given, the model suggests that what we observe emerges through a structural constraint that filters possible configurations into physically accessible ones. In this view, physical reality is not defined by dynamics alone, but by limits on what information can consistently appear as an observable state. The model introduces the idea that unobserved or excluded configurations are not lost arbitrarily, but contribute indirectly by shaping the structure within which observable states emerge. The framework does not introduce new forces or speculative entities. Rather, it provides a conceptual basis for interpreting physical constraints as consequences of informational selection. The approach is deliberately minimal and compatible with existing physical theories, serving as a foundational step toward more detailed theoretical and empirical developments.
This work presents a conceptual and representational framework aimed at clarifying the structural relationships among established physical theories across relativistic, quantum, and cosmological regimes. Rather than proposing new dynamical laws, particles, or experimentally testable predictions, the manuscript focuses on how existing physical descriptions may be consistently interpreted within a unified representational structure. The proposed Dual-Spacetime Projection Framework distinguishes between an underlying descriptive domain and an observed effective spacetime, connected through a scale-dependent projection. This distinction is intended as a formal and interpretative tool, not as an ontological claim about the existence of multiple physical spacetimes. Within this perspective, several foundational features of modern physics—such as Lorentz invariance, finite signal propagation, quantum uncertainty, and large-scale cosmological behavior—are discussed as consequences of representational structure rather than as independent postulates. The manuscript is positioned as a contribution to the foundations of theoretical physics, offering a coherent conceptual lens for organizing and interpreting existing theories. It is intended for readers interested in foundational questions, conceptual unification, and the representational aspects of physical law, and does not rely on experimental data or numerical simulation.
This paper introduces and formalizes the Principle of Structural Non-Neutrality: In a coherent system, no part can be structurally neutral. Beginning from the quantum limits of measurement—where informative observation necessarily disturbs the observed system—we argue that this apparent "strangeness" of quantum mechanics is not an anomaly but a minimal requirement for any system in which the observer is physically embedded. Classical physics, by contrast, implicitly assumes an external observer who can extract information without interaction—a privilege that no physical theory can consistently grant. From this insight, we derive a sharp distinction between systems and models: A system is that which cannot be known without being changed A model is that which can be known without being changed This distinction yields our central principle: in a genuinely coherent system, every part must contribute to the global structure. Structural neutrality—the presence of a part that makes no difference to the system's state space—is logically incompatible with coherence. Key Contributions Formal definition of structural relevance using mutual information: R(p, S) = I(p; S \ {p}), with exact neutrality defined as R = 0 Proof by contradiction demonstrating that coherent systems (as defined) cannot contain structurally neutral elements Unification of existing frameworks: reliability theory's "component relevance," quantum non-separability, and Integrated Information Theory's irreducibility are shown to be instances of a single structural requirement Resolution of apparent counterexamples: redundant components, silent genes, weakly coupled systems, and gauge degrees of freedom are analyzed and shown to be compatible with the principle Connection to quantum interpretations: the principle constrains (without adjudicating among) many-worlds, decoherence-based, QBist, and relational interpretations Applications: epistemology (coherentist justification), reliability engineering, biological networks, and ecological systems Theoretical Framework The paper traces a conceptual path: Quantum measurement limits → Observer embeddedness → Systems vs. models distinction → Structural non-neutrality principle → Applications across domains The principle is offered not as a revolutionary discovery but as a unifying formulation that makes explicit what several frameworks already imply, while grounding this shared requirement in the impossibility of genuinely external observation. Keywords quantum measurement; observer problem; coherent systems; structural non-neutrality; systems theory; integrated information; reliability theory; quantum foundations; philosophy of physics; mutual information; non-separability; decoherence Academic Context This work bridges quantum foundations, general systems theory, and philosophy of science. It is relevant to researchers in: Foundations of quantum mechanics Philosophy of physics Complex systems theory Integrated Information Theory Reliability engineering Theoretical biology Epistemology (coherentism) Note: This paper underwent multiple rounds of peer review and revision, addressing concerns about scope, mathematical formalization, relation to existing literature, and applicability limits. The final version includes a graded measure of structural relevance, explicit comparison with IIT and reliability theory, treatment of apparent counterexamples, and open questions for future research.