In 1989, John Wheeler proposed the concept of "It from Bit," according to which physical reality arises from information. However, the mechanism of this transition remained undescribed. In this work, we propose such a mechanism: information becomes matter through the activation of a cell in discrete space upon interaction. Space is modeled as a hexagonal lattice, where each cell can exist in two states: information (0) and matter (1). The 0→1 transition occurs through physical interaction. The observer is a source of interaction, not consciousness. The model explains the observer effect, gravity, dark matter, and quantum uncertainty, providing "It from Bit" with the missing physical mechanism.
In 1989, John Wheeler proposed the concept of "It from Bit," according to which physical reality arises from information. However, the mechanism of this transition remained undescribed. In this work, we propose such a mechanism: information becomes matter through the activation of a cell in discrete space upon interaction. Space is modeled as a hexagonal lattice, where each cell can exist in two states: information (0) and matter (1). The 0→1 transition occurs through physical interaction. The observer is a source of interaction, not consciousness. The model explains the observer effect, gravity, dark matter, and quantum uncertainty, providing "It from Bit" with the missing physical mechanism.
We propose a physical mechanism for quantum collapse as the activation of a spatial cell through interaction. Space is modeled as a fractal hexagonal lattice, which appears as hexagons in two-dimensional projection and as cubes in three-dimensional projection. The observer effect is explained without invoking consciousness, postulates, or many-worlds interpretation. Different biological species possess distinct sensory zones, determining their unique version of reality. The model yields testable predictions: anisotropy of the speed of light, dark matter as non-activated cells, and quantum uncertainty as a failure of activation. The model bridges general relativity and quantum mechanics through the discrete structure of space, aligns with geodetic methods, and offers a new language for describing the fabric of reality. Russian: Впервые предложен физический механизм квантового коллапса как активация ячейки пространства через взаимодействие. Пространство моделируется как фрактальная гексагональная решётка, которая в двумерной проекции выглядит как шестиугольники, в трёхмерной - как кубы. Эффект наблюдателя объясняется без привлечения сознания, постулатов или многомировой интерпретации. Разные биологические виды имеют различные сенсорные зоны, что определяет их уникальную версию реальности. Модель даёт проверяемые предсказания: анизотропия скорости света, природа тёмной материи как неактивированных ячеек, квантовая неопределённость как сбой активации. Модель связывает общую теорию относительности и квантовую механику через дискретную структуру пространства, согласуется с геодезическими методами и предлагает новый язык для описания устройства реальности.
It is broadly believed that everything in the universe is found to be made from a few basic building blocks called fundamental particles, governed by four fundamental forces. However, physicists such as John Archibald Wheeler suggested that information is fundamental to the physics of the universe. According to this it from bit doctrine, all things physical are information-theoretic in origin. This doctrine is based in the old Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics; an interpretation which is internally inconsistent and no applicable to the cosmos as a whole. Modern consistent interpretations of quantum mechanics eliminate the old myths about measurement processes and observers' consciousness and reintroduce the idea of a wholly physical reality, invalidating the it from bit doctrine. Utilizing a new phase space formulation of quantum mechanics developed recently by the author, the concepts of bit and it are reconsidered. We introduce the new states D as quantum bits and the new Hamiltonians H as quantum its. The new concepts of it and bit introduced in this work have a well-defined and rigorous definition, unlike Wheeler's concepts. Moreover, the new concepts apply on situations where the traditional wavefunction theory does not work. The it H is not derivable from the bit D and, as a consequence, the old it from bit doctrine gets substituted by the new it and bit. After showing why the physical entropy used in the science of thermodynamics is not a measure of the ignorance of human observers, the final part of this Essay is devoted to emphasize the importance that the bit acquires in modern science when confronted to the delicious multiplicity of the far-from-equilibrium regimes, where the certainty of Newtonian and Schrodinger motion begin to fade in favour of a complex non-geometrical, 'living', conception of Nature: an it and bit conception.
Abstract John Archibald Wheeler’s “it from bit” hypothesis proposes that physical reality emerges from information generated through observer-participatory quantum events. This paper presents a mathematical counter-framework: “it from position.” We define a complete, timeless, five-dimensional structure Ω (the 5D quantum foam) that exists independently of observation. The observer occupies a position p in a five-dimensional manifold M5, comprising spatial coordinates (x, y, z), a temporal coordinate (τ), and a consciousness-clarity coordinate (c). A projection function πp maps the totality Ω onto the observer’s accessible reality R(p). We demonstrate that Wheeler’s “it from bit” emerges as a limiting case of this framework when c → 0, reducing the projection to binary measurement outcomes. Conversely, as c → 1 (pure, uninfluenced perception), the projection converges on Ω itself. This framework dissolves the measurement problem, reinterprets quantum entanglement as positional unity, and provides a formal basis for the relationship between consciousness and physical reality. Testable predictions distinguishing this model from standard “it from bit” are proposed.
This paper introduces The Informative State (THIS) as the bridge between observer and system. This framework is designed to address the fundamental problem of how classical reality emerges from quantum mechanics. We propose that the physically irreducible coupling between an observer and a system, quantified by quantum mutual information across time, forms the bridge that explains the emergence of objective facts from subjective interactions. The participatory universe theory, also known as “It from Bit” and particularly associated with physicist John Wheeler, posits that acts of observation influence what is seen as real, suggesting that the universe remains indeterminate when there is no observer. Hugh Everett’s many-worlds interpretation offers an alternative by stating that the observer is always part of the system, regardless of the nature of the observer; any entity that observes can fulfill this function. The THIS framework is introduced to represent the relationship between an observer and the observed in information extraction. The combined quantum state of the observer and the observed at any given time ensures that the observer actively contributes to the way classical information is acquired. The observed does not calculate the observation, the observer calculates what can be observed from an abstract separation between observer and observed. Wheeler assumes a constitutive role of observation in the production of reality, while our framework focuses on the active, ongoing, and quantifiable coupling between observer and system, where the observer’s informational boundaries determine what aspects of reality can be accessed. A property of a system becomes a ’fact’ for an observer when the correlation between the system’s state and the observer’s record is nearly perfect. We propose measurable criteria for THIS and outline a verification program using memory-update protocols and controlled decoherence. The paper presents an epistemological view on ontology and as such also discusses the possibilities of artificial intelligence to transcend human cognitive limits.
In his 1989 essay, John Archibald Wheeler has tried to answer the eternal question of existence. He did it by searching for links between information, physics, and quanta. The main concept emerging from his essay is that "every physical quantity, every it, derives its ultimate significance from bits, binary yes-or-no indications". This concept has been summarized in the catchphrase "it from bit". In the Wheeler's essay, it is possible to read several times the echoes of the philosophy of Niels Bohr. The Danish physicist has pointed out how the quantum and relativistic physics - forcing us to abandon the anchor of the visual reference of common sense - have imposed a greater attention to the language. Bohr did not deny the physical reality, but recognizes that there is always need of a language no matter what a person wants to do. To put it as Carlo Sini, language is the first toolbox that man has at hands to analyze the experience. It is not a thought translated into words, because to think is to operate with signs as reminded us by various philosophers from Leonardo da Vinci to Ludwig Wittgenstein. [...]
I propose that qualia are physical because they are directly observable, and revisit the contentious link between consciousness and quantum measurements from a new perspective -- one that does not rely on observers or wave function collapse but instead treats physical measurements as fundamental in a sense resonant with Wheeler's it-from-bit. Building on a mathematical definition of measurement space in physics, I reinterpret it as a model of qualia, effectively equating the measurement problem of quantum mechanics with the hard problem of consciousness. The resulting framework falls within panpsychism, and offers potential solutions to the combination problem. Moreover, some of the mathematical structure of measurement spaces, taken for granted in physics, needs justification for qualia, suggesting that the apparent solidity of physical reality is deeply rooted in how humans process information.