[Sigia-l] data as information?

[Eric Scheid]

On 30/6/05 2:10 PM, "Alexander Johannesen" <alexander.johannesen at gmail.com>
wrote:

> On 6/30/05, Eric Scheid <eric.scheid at ironclad.net.au> wrote:
>> Here is some noise: 4638
>> Here is a datum: 3778
>> 
>>  Now,
>> while providing that context (me, meals, porridge, etc) has transformed that
>> datum into information, the raw data point (ie. 3778) is still a raw data
>> point.
> 
> But it's not; my brain read that number, and thinks its a part of a
> phone number! What shall I do?!

If your perception of reality confuses you, that's your problem. Please do
adjust your set.

>> The first item I can't say anything about. It's just a number, it's just
>> noise. 
> 
> Well, you need to make up your mind; is it a number, or is it noise?
> Because they are two different patterns, two different things.

It is noise represented as a number.

>> Do they "appear" the same? Yes. Get over it.
> 
> Wow. "Get over it." Isn't that what we say to people who fret over the
> cost of petrol for their car? I can't do anything about it, so I'll
> tell them to get over it, deal with it, crikey, silly sods.
> 
> Yeah, I never accepted that as a reasonable answer either. :)

heheh ;-)

It's an allusion to embrace ambiguity, especially if just for now. Feel free
to re-assess later once more evidence is in.

Can you imagine Gil Grissom* holding a bloodied knife, and wondering "is
this evidence, or just some irrelevant trash that is coincidentally at the
crime scene"? You know he's not going to stare at that knife endlessly,
hoping it will reveal it's true nature. He's going put it to one side, go
gather some more potential evidence, and come back later once he's got a
wider understanding of the context. So, is it noise, or is it evidence ...
that's not an important distinction at that time, stop obsessing, get over
it, move on ... and come back later once you have more context, when you are
able to pick out the data from the noise.


e.

* a fictional character in a popular TV show, a forensic investigator for
some crime lab some where.