Information is the
result of processing, manipulating and organizing data in a way that
adds to the knowledge of the person receiving it.
Information as a concept bears a diversity
of meanings, from everyday usage to technical settings.
Generally speaking, the concept of information
is closely related to notions of
constraint,
communication, control,
data,
form,
instruction,
knowledge, meaning, mental stimulus,
pattern,
perception, and representation.
Many people
speak about the
Information Age as the advent of the Knowledge
Age or
knowledge society, the
information society, and information technologies,
and even though
informatics,
information science and
computer science are often in the spotlight,
the
word "information" is often used without careful consideration of the
various meanings it has acquired.
Information as a message
Information
is the state of a system of interest (curiosity). Message is the
information materialized.
Information
is a quality of a
message a sender to one or more receivers. Information is always
about something (size of a parameter, occurrence of an event, ...).
Viewed in this manner, information does not have to be accurate. It may be a
truth or a lie, or just the sound of a kiss. Even a disruptive noise used to
inhibit the flow of communication and create misunderstanding would in this
view be a form of information. However, generally speaking, if the
amount of information in the received message increases the more
accurate the message is.
This model
assumes there is a definite sender and at least one receiver. Many
refinements of the model assume the existence of a common language
understood by the sender and at least one of the receivers. An important
variation identifies information as that which would be communicated by a
message if it were sent from a sender to a receiver capable of understanding
the message. However, in requiring the existence of a definite sender, the
"information as a message" model does not attach any significance to the
idea that information is something that can be extracted from an
environment, e.g., through observation, reading or measurement.
Information
is a term with many meanings depending on
context, but is as a rule closely related to such concepts as meaning,
knowledge, instruction, communication, representation, and mental stimulus.
Simply stated, Information is a message received and understood. In terms of
data, it can be defined as a collection of facts from which conclusions may
be drawn. There are many other aspects of information since it is the
knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction. But overall,
information is the result of processing, manipulating and organizing data in
a way that adds to the knowledge of the person receiving it.
Communication theory
is a numerical measure of the uncertainty of an outcome, for example, we can
say that "the signal contained thousands of bits of information".
Communication theory tends to use the concept of
information entropy, generally attributed to C.E. Shannon (see
below).
Another form of information
is the
Fisher information, a concept of R.A. Fisher. This is used in
application of statistics to
estimation theory and to science in general.
Fisher information is thought of as the amount of
information that a message carries about an unobservable parameter.
It can be computed from knowledge of the
likelihood function defining the system. For example, with a
normal
likelihood function, the
Fisher information is the reciprocal of the variance of the law.
In the absence of knowledge of the likelihood law, the
Fisher information may be computed from normally distributed score
data as the reciprocal of their second moment.
Even though
information and
data are often used interchangeably, they are actually
very different. Data is a set of unrelated information, and as such
is of no use until it is properly evaluated. Upon evaluation, once there
is some significant relation between data, and they show some relevance,
then it is converted into information. Now this same data can be used
for different purposes. Thus, till the data convey some information, they
are not useful.
Measuring information entropy
The view of information
as a message came into prominence with the publication in 1948 of an
influential paper by Claude Shannon, "A
Mathematical Theory of Communication." This paper provides the
foundations of
information theory and endows the word information not only
with a technical meaning but also a measure. If the sending device is
equally likely to send any one of a set of 
messages,
then the preferred measure of "the information produced when one message is
chosen from the set" is the base two
logarithm of (This
measure is called
self-information). In this paper, Shannon continues:
The choice of a logarithmic base corresponds to the choice of a unit for measuring information. If the base 2 is used the resulting units may be called binary digits, or more briefly bits, a word suggested by J. W. Tukey. A device with two stable positions, such as a relay or a flip-flop circuit, can store one bit of information. N such devices can store N bits... [The Bell System Technical Journal, Vol. 27, p. 379, (July 1948).]
A
complementary way of measuring information is provided by
Algorithmic information theory. In brief, this measures the information
content of a list of symbols based on how predictable they are, or more
specifically how easy it is to generate the list. The sequence below would
have a very low algorithmic information measurement since it is a very
predictable pattern, and as the pattern continues the measurement would
not change. Shannon information would give the same information
measurement for each symbol, since they are statistically random, and each
new symbol would increase the measurement.
123456789101112131415161718192021
It is
important to recognise the limitations of Shannon's work from the
perspective of human meaning. When referring to the meaning content of a
message Shannon noted ¡°Frequently the messages have meaning¡
these semantic aspects of communication are irrelevant to the engineering
problem. The significant aspect is that the actual message is one selected
from a set of possible messages¡± (emphasis in original).
In Information Theory signals are part of a process, not a substance, they
do something, they do not contain any specific meaning. Combining
Algorithmic information theory and Information Theory we can conclude that
the most random signal contains the most information as it can be
interpreted in any way and cannot be compressed.
Micheal Reddy noted that ¡°signals¡± of the mathematical theory are ¡°patterns
that can be exchanged¡±. There is no message contained in the signal, the
signals covey the ability to select from a set of possible messages.¡±
In information theory ¡°the
system must be designed to operate for each possible selection, not just the
one which will actually be chosen since this is unknown at the time of
design.
See also:
Information as a pattern
Information is any represented
pattern. This view assumes neither accuracy nor directly
communicating parties, but instead assumes a separation between an object
and its representation, as well as the involvement of someone capable of
understanding this relationship. This view seems therefore to require
a conscious
mind. Consider the following example: economic statistics represent
an economy, however inaccurately. What are commonly referred to as data
in
computing,
statistics, and other fields, are forms of information in this
sense. The electro-magnetic patterns in a computer
network and connected devices are related to something other than the
pattern itself, such as
text to be displayed and keyboard input. Signals, signs, and
symbols are also in this category. On the other hand, according to
semiotics, data is symbols with certain
syntax and information is data with a certain semantic.
Painting and
drawing contain information to the extent that they represent something
such as an assortment of objects on a table, a
profile, or a
landscape. In other words, when a pattern of something is transposed
to a pattern of something else,
the latter is information.
This type of information still assumes some involvement of conscious mind,
of either the entity constructing the representation, or the entity
interpreting it.
If you accept that
information can be defined merely as a pattern,
does it not follow that neither
utility nor meaning are necessary components of information?
Surely a distinction must be made between raw
unprocessed data and information which
possesses utility, value or some quantum of meaning. Information may
indeed be characterised as a pattern; it is a
necessary condition, but not sufficient. For example a telephone book
follows a specific pattern: name, address, telephone number.
An individual entry does not become "informative" in some sense
unless and until it possesses some degree of utility, value or meaning.
For example, someone might look up a girlfriend's number, might order a
take away etc. The vast majority of numbers will never be construed as
"information" in any meaningful sense. The gap
between data and information is only closed by a behavioural bridge
whereby some value, utility or meaning is added to
transform mere data or pattern into information.
When
one constructs a representation of an object, one can selectively extract
from the object (sampling)
or use a
system of signs to replace ( encoding), or both.
The sampling and encoding result in representation. An example of the former
is a "sample" of a product; an example of the latter is "verbal description"
of a product. Both contain information of the product, however inaccurate.
When one interprets representation, one can predict a broader pattern from a
limited number of observations (inference) or understand the relation
between patterns of two different things ( decoding). One example of the
former is to sip a
soup to know if it is spoiled; an example of the latter is examining
footprints to determine the animal and its condition. In both cases,
information sources are not constructed or presented by some "sender" of
information. To repeat, information in this sense does not assume direct
communication, but it assumes involvement of some conscious mind.
Regardless, information is dependent upon, but usually unrelated to and
separate from, the medium or media used to express it. In other words,
the position of a theoretical series of bits, or even the output once
interpreted by a computer or similar device, is unimportant, except when
someone or something is present to interpret the information. Therefore,
a quantity of information is totally distinct from its medium.
Information as sensory input
Often information is viewed as a type of
input to an
organism or designed device. Inputs are of two kinds. Some inputs are
important to the function of the organism (for example, food) or device (energy)
by themselves. In his book Sensory Ecology, Dusenbery called these
causal inputs. Other inputs (information) are important only because they
are associated with causal inputs and can be used to predict the occurrence
of a causal input at a later time (and perhaps another place).
Some information is important because of association
with other information but eventually there must be a connection
to a causal input. In practice, information is usually carried by weak
stimuli that must be detected by specialized sensory systems and amplified
by energy inputs before they can be functional to the organism or device.
For example, light is often a causal input to plants but provides
information to animals. The colored light reflected from a flower is too
weak to do much photosynthetic work but the visual system of the bee detects
it and the bee's nervous system uses the information to guide the bee to the
flower, where the bee often finds nectar or pollen, which are causal inputs,
serving a nutritional function.
Information is any type of sensory input. When an
organism with a
nervous system receives an input, it transforms the input into an
electrical signal. This is regarded information by some. The idea of
representation is still relevant, but in a slightly different manner. That
is, while abstract painting does not represent anything concretely, when the
viewer sees the painting, it is nevertheless transformed into electrical
signals that create a representation of the painting. Defined this way,
information does not have to be related to truth, communication, or
representation of an object.
Entertainment in general is not intended to be informative.
Music, the
performing arts,
amusement parks, works of
fiction and so on are thus forms of information in this sense, but they
are not forms of information according to the previous definitions above.
Consider another example: food supplies both nutrition and taste for those
who eat it. If information is equated to sensory input, then nutrition is
not information but taste is.
Information as an influence which leads to a transformation
Information is any type of pattern
that influences the formation or transformation of other patterns. In this
sense, there is no need for a conscious mind to perceive, much less
appreciate, the pattern. Consider, for
example,
DNA. The sequence of
nucleotides is a pattern that influences the formation and development
of an organism without any need for a
conscious mind.
Systems theory at times seems to refer to information in this sense,
assuming information does not necessarily involve any conscious mind, and
patterns circulating (due to
feedback) in the system can be called information. In other words, it
can be said that information in this sense is something potentially
perceived as representation, though not created or presented for that
purpose.
When
Marshall McLuhan speaks of media and their effects on human cultures, he
refers to the structure of artifacts that in turn shape our behaviors and
mindsets. Also,
pheromones are often said to be "information" in this sense.
In 2003, J. D. Bekenstein claimed there is a growing
trend in
physics to define the physical world as being made of information
itself (and thus information is defined in this way).
See the section below on information as a property in
physics. (Also see
Gregory Bateson.)
Information as a property in physics
Main article: Physical information
Information has a well defined meaning in
physics. Examples of this include the phenomenon of
quantum entanglement where particles can interact without reference to
their separation or the speed of light. Information
itself cannot travel faster than light even if the information is
transmitted indirectly. This could lead to the fact that all attempts at
physically observing a particle with an "entangled" relationship to another
are slowed down, even though the particles are not connected in any other
way other than by the information they carry.
Another link is demonstrated by the
Maxwell's demon thought experiment. In this experiment, a direct
relationship between information and another physical property,
entropy, is demonstrated. A consequence is that it is impossible to
destroy information without increasing the entropy of a system; in practical
terms this often means generating heat. Thus, in the study of logic gates,
the theoretical lower bound of thermal energy released by an AND gate
is more than for the NOT gate (because information is destroyed in
an AND gate and simply converted in a NOT gate). Physical
information is of particular importance in the theory of quantum computers.
Etymology
According to the
Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest historical meaning of the word
information in English was the act of
informing, or giving form or shape to the mind, as in
education, instruction, or training. A quote from 1387: "Five books come
down from heaven for information of mankind."
It was also used for an item of training, e.g. a
particular instruction. "Melibee had heard the great skills and reasons of
Dame Prudence, and her wise informations and techniques." (1386)
The English word was apparently derived by adding the common "noun of
action" ending "-ation" (descended through French from Latin "-tio")
to the earlier verb to inform, in the
sense of to give form to the mind, to discipline, instruct,
teach: "Men so wise should go and inform their kings." (1330)
Inform itself comes (via French) from the Latin verb informare,
to give form to, to form an idea of. Furthermore,
Latin itself already even contained the word
informatio meaning concept or idea, but the extent to which
this may have influenced the development of the word information in
English is unclear.
As a final note, the ancient Greek word for form was eidos,
and this word was famously used in a technical philosophical sense by
Plato (and later Aristotle) to denote the ideal identity or
essence of something (see The Forms).
Information and Data
The words, information and data, are used interchangeably in many contexts. However, they are not synonyms. For example, according to Adam M. Gadomski's observation (1993), data are everything what is/can be processed and information are data which describe a physical or abstract domain.
Information as Records
Records are a specialized form of information.
Essentially records are information produced as by-products of business
activities or transactions or consciously as a record of such activities or
transactions and retained because of their value. Primarily the value is as
evidence of the activities of the organization but they may also be retained
for their informational value. Sound
Records management ensures that the integrity of records is preserved
for as long as they are required.
The international standard on
Records management, ISO 15489, defines records as "information created,
received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or
person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of
business". The International Committee on Archives (ICA) Committee on
electronic records defined a record as, "a specific piece of recorded
information generated, collected or received in the initiation, conduct or
completion of an activity and that comprises sufficient content, context and
structure to provide proof or evidence of that activity".
Records may be retained because of their business value, as part of the
Corporate memory of the organization or to meet legal, fiscal or
accountability requirements imposed on the organization. Willis (2005)
expressed the view that sound management of business records and information
delivered ¡°¡six key requirements for good
Corporate governance ¡ transparency; accountability; due process;
compliance; meeting statutory and common law requirements; and security of
personal and corporate information.
References
-
Bekenstein, Jacob D. (2003, August). Information in the holographic universe. Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.referencenter.com
-
Luciano Floridi, (2005). 'Is Information Meaningful Data?', Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 70 (2), pp. 351 - 370. Available online at http://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/~floridi/pdf/iimd.pdf
-
Luciano Floridi, (2005). 'Semantic Conceptions of Information', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2005 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Available online at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/information-semantic/
See also
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