Information

Information is an abstract idea that means something that can teach or tell us about something else. At its most basic, it is about how we understand what we see, hear, or sense in the world. Anything that follows a pattern or is not completely random can be said to carry information. This can be in many forms, like digital signals with clear signs, or things like poems, pictures, music, and even electric currents that share information in a more flowing way.

Information is not the same as knowledge. Instead, it is the meaning we get from something when we interpret or understand it. For example, each letter in a book gives us clues about the word it is part of, and each word helps us understand the sentence. This process continues until we learn something new. Information can also be organized into data, which can be made smaller through compression.

We can send information through time by storing it, or across distances using communication and telecommunication. Information can be hidden in different ways for safe keeping and sending. The study of how information works is called information theory, and it shows that events that are less likely to happen need more information to explain them. The bit is the basic unit of information, measuring how much uncertainty it can remove.

Etymology and history of the concept

The word "information" comes from old French and Latin words that meant things like teaching or shaping ideas. Over time, its meaning changed from shaping ideas to sharing messages or facts with others.

In modern times, ideas about information were greatly influenced by a theory created by Claude Shannon. This theory talks about information in two ways: as something you can measure, like water, and as a choice someone makes. These different ways of thinking about information can cause confusion because they are not always the same. Some experts believe that information is really about what people understand and share with each other, not just signals or messages. This means that the same object, like a stone, can mean different things to different people depending on their knowledge or job.

Information theory

Information theory is a science that studies how we can measure, store, and send information. It began with important work by Claude Shannon in the 1940s, with earlier ideas from Harry Nyquist and Ralph Hartley in the 1920s. This field connects many areas like probability theory, statistics, computer science, and engineering.

One key idea in information theory is called entropy, which measures how much we don’t know about something before we get information about it. For example, flipping a fair coin has less uncertainty than rolling a die, because there are fewer possible outcomes. Information theory also helps us compress data, like making ZIP files, and correct errors in data, like in DSL connections. It has been important for many inventions and explorations, from the Voyager space missions to the creation of the compact disc and the development of mobile phones and the Internet.

As sensory input

Information can be thought of as something that helps an organism or system understand what is happening around it. There are two types of inputs. Some inputs, like food or energy, are important by themselves. Others, called information, are important because they help predict when or where something important might happen later.

For example, light helps plants grow, but for animals, light mainly gives information. Bees can see the color of a flower, which is too weak to help the plant, but this information helps the bee find nectar or pollen, which are important for the bee.

As an influence that leads to transformation

Information is any pattern that can change or shape other patterns. This can happen without any need for a thinking mind to notice it. For example, the order of tiny building blocks in DNA helps shape and grow a living organism, all on its own.

Some ideas about systems say that information can move through a system because of feedback. This means the information might be noticed as a sign or signal, but it wasn’t made to be seen that way. When a thinking mind sees and understands this information, it can turn into knowledge. This idea is important in studying how businesses manage knowledge. Tools and steps help people look at information, find meaning, and make smart choices based on what they learn.

Technologically mediated information

These sections talk about measuring data, not information itself, because information cannot be measured directly.

As of 2007

In 2007, the world’s ability to store information grew a lot. It went from about 2.6 exabytes in 1986 to 295 exabytes in 2007. That’s like having almost 61 CD-ROMs for every person by 2007.

The world’s ability to receive information through broadcasts was like getting 174 newspapers each day for every person in 2007.

And the ability to share information through two-way telecommunication networks was like sharing 6 newspapers each day for every person in 2007.

By 2007, about 90% of all new information was digital, mostly stored on computer hard drives.

As of 2020

The amount of data created, captured, copied, and used around the world was expected to grow quickly, reaching 64.2 zettabytes in 2020. Over the next five years, up to 2025, this was projected to grow to more than 180 zettabytes.

As records

Records are special kinds of information. They are created during business activities or transactions and kept because they are important. Mainly, they show proof of what the organization did, but they might also be kept because they have useful information.

Good records management helps make sure that records stay safe and accurate for as long as they are needed. Records can help an organization remember its history or meet legal rules it must follow. Proper care of records supports clear rules, following laws, and keeping information secure.

Semiotics

Information can be understood in different ways depending on how it is used. One way is to think of information as a process, as knowledge, or as a thing.

We can also look at information through signs and signals. There are four important parts to this: pragmatics, semantics, syntax, and empirics. Pragmatics looks at why we communicate — what we hope to achieve with our words. Semantics studies what our words mean. Syntax looks at the rules and structure of language. Empirics deals with how messages are sent and received through different channels.

All of these parts help connect our social world with the physical world, helping us share ideas and understand each other.

Physics and determinacy

Information helps us understand how things will behave in the future. In classical physics, if we know everything about a system now, we can predict what will happen later. This idea is called determinism.

In quantum physics, information is described using something called a wave function. This helps us figure out the chances of different outcomes when we measure something. Unlike classical physics, quantum physics deals with probabilities rather than certainties. This was a big change in how scientists think about the universe.

The application of information study

The information cycle is very important for information technology, information systems, and information science. These areas study how information is captured, made, changed, sent, shown, and stored. They use tools like sensors, computation, and telecommunication to handle information.

Information visualization, often called InfoVis, helps people see patterns and notice unusual things in data. It uses computers to turn data into pictures that are easy to understand.

Information security, or InfoSec, works to keep information safe from people who shouldn’t see or change it. This is done by watching for problems and fixing them when they happen.

Information analysis looks at information to turn raw data into useful knowledge that helps people make decisions.

Information quality, or InfoQ, is about how good a set of data is for a certain job or study.

Information communication brings together different ways of sharing information, like using computers, phones, and media.