If two snowflakes are identical, does that increase information?
Play the game right, don’t look at the other answers.
My definition of information is the same as a neuron’s definition. Info is a new sensory input, not fitting into current background patterns, and potentially salient. Putting it another way, info is an input that might require ACTION.
A large enough quantity of snow requires action. Walk carefully, beware of slips, shovel the sidewalks, rake the roof. The internal pattern of snowflakes is irrelevant.
If my job or hobby was analyzing snowflakes, I might find their patterns interesting. Even then, I wouldn’t start with the BACKGROUND EXPECTATION that all of them are supposed to be different. There’s no physical reason for that expectation. They’re built in huge numbers by a fairly simple process, so the range of variation should be limited.
= = = = =
Now turn up the cards and look at the other answers, which were naturally aimed at ID vs Darwin.
Pretty much the same as mine, focusing on ACTION or FUNCTION.
They perform no function, because their shapes do not conform to an externally specified pattern or set of rules that would enable them to perform any function (like conveying information).
Polistra's Mill 