[Sigia-l] data as information?

[Alexander Johannesen]

Hi Conal,

Conal Tuohy <Conal.Tuohy at vuw.ac.nz> wrote:
> Anyway ... for those not familiar with it, in terms of "Information
> Theory", there's no dichotomy between "data" and "information". They are
> distinct concepts, but they are not disjoint.

They sound a bit fuzzy to me. :)

> In the theory, "data" are the symbols of whatever type.

Hmm, what is a symbol? I'm pretty sure you're not talking about visual symbols.

> If you're looking up a bus schedule on a bus
> timetable, and someone points out that Ouagadougou is the capital of
> Burkina Faso, that will probably have no effect on you ... in that sense
> it's not "information".

So are you saying that unless I recognise it as information, it is
data? And it will stay data, until I at some later point think it is
information?

> So data exist objectively and independently, but since "data" in this
> theory are only "information" to the extent that they can have an effect
> on a receiver, this makes "information" a user-centric concept, and
> even, if you define "receiver" to be a task-focussed human, in some
> particular "mode" (rather than as a complete person), then what
> constitutes information can be defined in terms of the task, and the
> receiver's pre-existing knowledge of the task. This user-centredness is
> essential IMHO.

I agree some some extent ... but doesn't this really mean that as long
as a person looks at data, it isn't data anymore? The brain *will* try
to contextualise and make "sense" out of any piece of data. In theory
it might be data as a non-human concept (as lots of atoms making up a
rock in a galaxy far, far away) but anyone who sees or talks about or
mentions or try to phantom or even glimpse a piece of data, then it
isn't data anymore? This makes data a very theoretical concept,
doesn't it?


Alexander
-- 
"Ultimately, all things are known because you want to believe you know."
                                                         - Frank Herbert
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