1) that which reduces
uncertainty. (Claude Shannon); 2) that which changes us. (Gregory Bateson)
Literally that which forms within, but more adequately: the equivalent of or the capacity of something to perform organizational work, the difference between two forms of
organization or between two states of
uncertainty before and after a message has been received, but also the degree to which one
variable of a
system depends on or is constrained by (
see constraint ) another. E.g., the
dna carries
genetic information inasmuch as it organizes or
controls the orderly
growth of a living organism. A message carries information inasmuch as it conveys something not already known. The answer to a question carries information to the extent it reduces the questioner's uncertainty. A telephone line carries information only when the signals sent correlate with those received. Since information is linked to certain changes, differences or dependencies, it is desirable to refer to theme and distinguish between information stored, information carried, information transmitted, information required, etc. Pure and unqualified information is an unwarranted abstraction.
information theory measures the quantities of all of these kinds of information in terms of
bits. The larger the uncertainty removed by a message, the stronger the correlation between the
input and
output of a
communication channel, the more detailed particular instructions are the more information is transmitted. (
Krippendorff )
Information is the meaning of the representation of a fact (or of a message) for the receiver. (
Hornung )
