# A Dialogue Concerning the Essence and Role of Information in the World System
## 2 The Dialogue
**M**: I don't object to your stratification of the history of information utilization and exploration. At the same time, I would like to suggest that it is possible to distinguish more periods or epochs in this history. The **first period** (**epoch**) began with the emergence of human beings and is characterized by the situation in which people operated with information but did not have the notion of information. The **second period** (**epoch**) is characterized by the emergence and utilization of the notion of information. The **third period** (**epoch**) is characterized by the beginning of information studies. I would also like to remark that although etymology does always define a scientific concept, often it provides a path to a better understanding. **J**: Your periodization is consistent with mine. So, let us return to our main problem and illustrate how [PERSON]'s \"difference which makes a difference\" translates into a mechanism that is capable of generating information. For example, we can consider a thermostat represented in Figure 1. Note that the design, construction, and functioning of such a thermostat is the result of human labor, i.e., of an info-autopoietic process. Figure 1 shows the relationship between a room and the surrounding environment. The room incorporates an air conditioner unit that can cool/heat the room and the associated thermostat control unit that controls its operation. The thermostat control unit consists of a one-parameter _Sensor_ and  
Figure 1: A one-parameter feedback loop simulation of a control mechanism (thermostat) associated with a room air conditioning system. a _Comparator_. The one-parameter _Sensor_ measures the room temperature \(T\) on a continuous basis. This temperature is an input to the _Comparator_ as the _detected parameter_. Another input to the _Comparator_ is the temperature setting \(T_{o}\) arbitrarily set by the occupant of the room based on her level of comfort. The temperature setting \(T_{o}\) is regarded as the _reference parameter_. The role of the _Comparator_ is to obtain the difference \(e=T-T_{o}\) between the _detected parameter_ and the _reference parameter_. This is an example of the Bateson _difference_, which may also be referred to as _error_. This _difference/error_ is the parameter used to trigger the _On-Off_ switch of the air conditioner unit. In cooling mode, the air conditioner turns \(On\) when \(e>0\), and turns \(Off\) when \(e<0\). The opposite is true when the air conditioner is in heating mode. This configuration shows that the actions of the thermostat depend on the _Comparator_ as a function of the _difference/error_ obtained from comparing the _detected parameter_ to the _reference parameter_. The circuit that comprises this system is a semi-closed-loop cybernetic feedback circuit, not a closed-loop cybernetic feedback circuit, since there is no direct connection between the air conditioner and the _Sensor_. In addition, there is no connection between the _Comparator_ output and the temperature setting. This brings about the existence of two semi-closed-loop cybernetic feedback circuits. One feedback circuit comprises the air conditioner that exhibits two outputs: one to the room and the other to the outside environment. The impact of the air conditioner on the _Sensor_ is by way of the air currents in the room as well as the environmental noise, which is the impact that the environment might exert on the walls of the room by being more/less windy or sunny/cloudy than the room. This feedback circuit has an eventual effect on the _detected parameter_ of the temperature at the one-parameter temperature _Sensor_, leading to a subsequent action affecting the _Comparator_ output that leads to an effect on the On/Off switch of the air conditioner. A second semi-closed-loop cybernetic feedback circuit mechanism to change the temperature setting \(T_{o}\) is by way of the room occupant. In either of these two cases, the room occupants can intervene to make the room temperature amenable to their needs.