[Fis] Five Clouds over Fundamental Information Science

Wed Dec 4 08:50:35 CET 2024

Dear Marcus,

I apologize for the late reply.

A few years ago, I coined the term "Inforware", which has proven to be very useful in my teaching experience of information science in my university, as my students have found it to be a valuable addition to their vocabulary. Currently, we have approximately 300 different professional informatics or information science, and this term is effective for classifying and distinguishing these subjects.

Also, can you find a single word to simply replace 'inforware' in the sentence 'Communication between Inforwares' in Cloud 4?

Best wishes，

Xueshan

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Dear Eric,

Thank you for your comment. Let's work together to advance our understanding of Fundamental Information Science.

Given your personal research experience, I would like to ask: How should we view CRISPR? Can we consider it a form of (genetic) information technology?

Best wishes，

Xueshan

From: fis-bounces at listas.unizar.es <fis-bounces at listas.unizar.es> On Behalf Of Eric Werner
Sent: Wednesday, December 4, 2024 3:55 AM
To: fis at listas.unizar.es
Subject: Re: [Fis] Five Clouds over Fundamental Information Science

Dear Xueshan,

Thank you for the clear separation of disciplines-themes-clouds! All of fundamental interest and importance. In view of your interests,  you might be interested in my theoretical and applies work on communication-cooperation theory for multi-agent systems (part of the birth of distributed AI) and my later modeling of genomes and their role in embryogenesis and cancer -which applied my DAI theories to modeling dynamic, developing multicellular communication systems. This work relates strongly to your themes at the same time showing crossovers.  I welcome further communications from you! My work on meaning was strongly influenced by Wittgenstein, von Neumann's work on game theory and his mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics. So a more logical-philosophical-formal-foundations bent.  

-Eric 

P.S. Since we have never met and since you have probably have never heard of me, here is some info about me: 

BACKGROUND: Dr. Eric Werner has a Ph.D. in logic and is a research scientist with an interdisciplinary focus in distributed artificial intelligence, systems biology, computational embryology, cancer modeling and simulation. He has developed new models and protocols to understand and potentially treat cancer by combining CRISPR genome editing methods with computational cancer modeling and simulation software (cancer-CAD).
As a founder of Distributed Artificial Intelligence DAI, he worked in some of the world's top research institutes including: The University of Oxford (Balliol College) for 11 years in both the department of computer science and the department of physiology, anatomy and genetics, INRIA in France, CNR in Rome, AAII (Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute, Stanford Research International SRI in Australia), SONY Research Labs in Tokyo, the Distributed Systems Research Group, University of Hamburg where he led a project with staff and students that developed the first four legged "insect" robot in Germany. He was chairman of the department of computer science and Dana Faculty Fellow at Bowdoin College, Maine. He headed robotic software development while professor of computer science at  Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology, Butte, Montana.  Dr. Werner was also a lecturer in philosophy and formal logic in Africa at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.  

Dear colleagues,

I have summarized five sets of puzzles faced by fundamental information science and called them 'clouds' — some of which have been emphasized by Pedro on many occasions. I am now glade to hear everyone's different opinions.

Best wishes,

Xueshan Yan

Professor Emeritus

Department of Information Management

Peking University, China

Five Clouds over Fundamental Information Science

Xueshan Yan

Inforware*: Information must exist in signs, and signs must exist on substrates**. We define a trinity composed of information, sign, and substrate as an Inforware.

Four Concomitant Disciplines: Based on the structure of an inforware, we have Informatics for studying information, and Semiotics for studying signs—the existence mode of information. Since communication is the transmission of information and computation is the processing of information, we also have another two fundamental disciplines: Communication Studies and Computation Studies. These four disciplines are concomitant; that is, if one is present, the other three (or more) will eventually emerge.

Cloud 1. Information and Meaning: What is information? Since 1948, information scientists have been discussing it for 76 years, yet still cannot provide a definitive answer. What is meaning? Since 1825, linguists have been debating it for 200 years and still cannot reach a definitive conclusion. Nevertheless, linguistics has been established successfully. Let’s consider a hypothesis: if we were to suspend all discussions about the definition of information for three years, what else could we do? From a human perspective, are information and meaning two homogenous issues? Or are they two different expressions of one existence?

Cloud 2. Brain Informatics or Animal Informatics: It has been demonstrated that any organism with a brain inforware can communicate with others; therefore, brain informatics must exist, —storing, sending, and receiving information are fundamental functions of the brain—, and human informatics already exists. Similarly, we could explore bee informatics, elephant informatics, and so on. Can we assume that there are as many types of animal informatics as there are animal species?

Cloud 3. Genetics as a Discipline of Informatics: Cells can communicate. The central dogma of molecular biology describes the pathway of DNA→RNA→protein, through which genetic information flows. In this process, DNA serves as substrate, bases function as signs, and genomics represents informatics. If we propose that genetics is the most successful branch of informatics, what would be the response from biologists? Could a similar phenomenon also be observed in neuroscience and endocrinology?

Cloud 4. Communication between Inforwares: Some speculate that two supramolecules can communicate with each other. But can two ordinary molecules communicate? Can two atoms communicate? Can two celestial bodies communicate? Can plants communicate with one another? Can different inforwares communicate across different levels? Is the communication between humans and cats true communication (language comprehension) or false communication (conditional reflex)?

Cloud 5. Exploration of Fundamental Information Science: Can we regard fundamental information science as an exploration based on the inductive method, focusing on the commonalities among various fundamental information disciplines, especially the four concomitant disciplines mentioned above? The complexity and enormity of this venture have far exceeded anyone's imagination. Is it one of the most challenging disciplines to study in contemporary times? Or, does it not exist at all?

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*Any discipline has its own concept framework, which is why I coined the new term Inforware. For example, the computer science is built on the two primary concepts of hardware and software.

**Studies focused solely on substrates typically fall under the technical or natural sciences rather than information science.

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-- 
Dr. Eric Werner, FLS 
Oxford Advanced Research Foundation 
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