I suppose the fact that the information is being stored at the location it describes, instead of in a central location, makes it a bit weird?
"weird" is emotional response. I think that function is the appropriate criteria here. Functionally, it is serving as memory. There's no magic difference between inside the body and outside of it.
Richard Dawkins' The Extended Phenotype http://www.amazon.com/Extended-Phenotype-Reach-Popular-Scien...
is a good read on this sort of stuff (it's a little bit more technical than his other books, but still readable by someone without a biology background).
"weird" is emotional response. I think that function is the appropriate criteria here. Functionally, it is serving as memory. There's no magic difference between inside the body and outside of it.
Richard Dawkins' The Extended Phenotype http://www.amazon.com/Extended-Phenotype-Reach-Popular-Scien... is a good read on this sort of stuff (it's a little bit more technical than his other books, but still readable by someone without a biology background).