Supplementary file 1_Sources of knowledge—causation begets entropy increase, time progression, and information flow.docx

The quest for knowledge has led to longstanding investigations into its sources. The foundation in information (data, evidence) is a cornerstone for the delineation of knowledge from belief or conviction. Through the execution of occurrences in the world, information flow is generated, which is observable and measurable in conceptual space with Lyapunov exponents and information dimensions. All occurrences have causes, which precede their effects, temporally and mechanistically. After much debate over the nature of cause-effect relationships, consensus has evolved, which interprets causation as the transfer of a preserved property (energy or momentum). This transfer modifies the thermodynamic entropy in closed and open systems alike. Independently, time progression has been characterized as being rooted in a transfer of heat (energy). Thus, causation is the driver of both, changes in thermodynamic entropy and time progression. It also effectuates a measurable evolution of information. With the acceptance of these interpretations, the underpinning of knowledge finds a unique definition. The essential causation of occurrences begets an information evolution, which—if observed in the process of scientific inquiry—serves as a basis for the generation of knowledge. Information flows not observed become lost to human access through dissipation in time and entropy.