Undestroyable Knowledge?

The older I get, the more information and knowledge I lose :-)

"Information" in Brittanica, composed of "words" printed "on paper", can certainly be stripped off its existence on paper( physical entity), by no of physical events. But the "understanding" conveyed by the information exists in a non-physical form in the "non-physical" entity called mind and that can not be destroyed by anything that is physical.Sounds logical? So, whether a 'black-hole' is physical or non-physical in nature has to be sttled first before answering your question.

Lets say that the bird flu epidemic materializes into a world pandemic that wipes out everyone except for New Zealand. The knowledge and information not held by N.Zealand would be lost:e.g. space exploration-shuttle-astronomical advances, nuclear power,pharmaceuticals,medical advances-techniques,agricultural advances, mining techniques, just to name a few things that would have to be relearned or developed by the remaining New Zealanders?

Define lost. If we lose our way on a forest, we may become "lost". That's because we don't know where we are, or how to get where we want to be. Define the "knowledge" that could be lost, for it is a broad term. Knowledge is not based upon truth or fact, it is something we possess as thoughts. Some refer to information or facts that people come to KNOW as knowledge. Therein lies the answer to the riddle. Can "knowledge" be lost? Yes. Every time a person dies, unique knowledge, published or unpublished dies with that person. Is is lost forever? Not according to the Bible. Can the knowledge in an Encyclopaedia be lost? The knowledge in such a book is (for the most part) based on facts, truths, history, discovery and the like. Most of these things are self-evident, open for rediscovery at any time, even while such books are being updated. The knowledge is learned and then published first, then others learn that knowledge from reading or listening to that book containing knowledge. As long as those people remember what they learned, it will remain. Not all knowledge is passed on, not all knowledge is worth passing on. Some knowledge should be lost. Some knowledge is lost forever. Knowledge can refer to many things, however, since it does not necessarily refer to knowledge held in common, and can refer to any information learned by a sentient creature; As long as there are people living, there will be knowledge.

There was once a method for making Dumascus Steel, which was supposed to make the very best swords ever made. Now modern metalurgists have created a method that they say is equal in quality, yet they still do not know the original method. There were once many kilns buried in the ground, (there is one on my family property) I have searched everywhere for someone or some type of documentation on how to use it. Yet it seems to be a "lost art" Yes, knowledge can be lost. No one knows how the ancients were able to build things that have better tolerances than modern builders cannot duplicate. (the pyramids were built within hundreds of an inch) Now 1/4" in 20' is considered acceptable. Also consider, the Romans perfected the gate valve two thousand years before we did, yet, that information was "lost" for over 1800 years. So, I guess that the answer is one that is lost in your point of view. However, I believe that knowledge once gained isn't always yours. One other note, If we were to try to build another Apollo type rocket, we would have to develope the technology all over again, you guessed it, NASA lost the technology.... THaNKs ZGRINCH>>>>>

There is no doubt knowledge can be lost, but can information? I don't know enough about information theory to understand why it can't be destroyed. In the theory, information is a fundamental quntity like energy that can neither be created or destroyed.

What is meant by the word information is not the same thing that you think of such as data on a CD ROM disk, a book, or memories in your brain. It is more of a generic term than that and I am not well versed in the subject to describe it accurately.

However, anything that goes into a black hole was thought to be lost from the universe forever. Current theories suggest that what goes in may not be lost forever, but can be released through evaporation of the black hole and I think some other mechanisms over vast stretches of time. The material that enters will not be of the same materialistic form that is released, so it sort of looses its identity. That might be a better way to describe it, but I am not one to do it. Hawkings would be a good source to read on the subject.

Bottom line is the strict definition we hold for the word information has a different context in this case.