Prof. G: Morning! Did you make it to that panel discussion last night?
Prof. A: Morning! Yes, I did. It was fascinating; left me quite confused though.
Prof. G: Oh. How so?
Prof. A: There was a physicist on the panel who mentioned that according to a theory, the total amount of information in the universe is conserved.
Prof. G: So, information can neither be created nor destroyed?
Prof. A: That's what I understood from the discussion.
Prof. G: Well, I guess if mass and energy are conserved, information can be conserved as well. Why the confusion?
Prof. A: I was thinking about the implications. If information can neither be created nor destroyed, what does that say about creativity? Or free will? Life, the passage of time; everything is just a game of combinatorics. Isn't it?
“The universe is computing its own destiny.” —James Gleick
