[Sigia-l] data as information?

[Ed Housman]

Ah, we turn again to the Nature of Information.  Quite so, it is the substance
we IA's get paid to manipulate.  About a year ago, we chatted for weeks about
*context*.  The epigram emerged: "Information is data in context." 

Over these months I have been pondering further "what is information anyway?",
but was side-tracked by an analysis of *media*.  A medium is necessary for
information to move among members of a group, allowing cooperative activity. 
It carries information from one place to another in time-space, or stores it
for future use.  Smoke signals, flags, bugles, flashing mirrors, tom-toms,
voice, printed text, carvings on stone, radio broadcasts, disk files, web pages
... these are all media.  They all involve expendature of energy. But a medium
is NOT information; information rides on its back.

I don't want to divert you all from your very interesting ongoing discussions,
but I thought I'd add this thought as long as you brought up the subject.

Currently I am analyzing the movement of information itself, irrespective of
the medium; for the same information can be sent using different media.  The
meaning, stupid.  (Referring to myself, of course.)

--Ed