[Fis] Foundational Thinkers in Information Science

[Krassimir Markov]

Dear Jason,

My answer is NONE!

Science is not a religion and there is no need to point fingers at the
apostles.

Science develops according to completely different rules.

In the early years of information science education, the emphasis should be
on the main scientific directions and schools, choosing for study those
that are relevant in the respective region.

What is the point of explaining to future farmers who are Al‑Khwarizmi
or Donald Knuth  ?

We need to learn to create happy people, not unhappy knowledgeable people!

With respect,
Krassimir

PS: Since the New Year's lecture is in progress, we should stop other
discussions and focus on the very important and interesting topic of art.

_____________________________________

> Dear Krassimir,
> Thanks! Now consider our target audience is not graduate students doing
comprehensive reviews, but teenager to > college students getting a primer
about the field. There are only ten seats for the top ten, who would you
name?
> Please try your best!  Best regards, Jason

On Fri, Jan 9, 2026, 2:46 PM Krassimir Markov <itheaiss at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Jason,
> Your question is difficult because there is no principle to be found in
> the answer.
> 1. If these are members of the FIS list, it is one principle.
> 2. Another principle is popularity at the moment.
> 3. A different principle is the formation and affiliation to relevant
> schools in different areas of information science.
> Below I give you the AI answer based on principles 2 and 3.
> Respectfully,
> Krassimir
>
>
> Top 7 Foundational Thinkers in Information Science (principle 2)
>
> 1. Al‑Khwarizmi
>
> *Foundations of algorithmic information* His systematic procedures for
> calculation established the earliest formal concept of algorithmic
> information processing. The very word *algorithm* comes from his name.
>
> 2. Claude Shannon
>
> *Mathematical theory of information* Shannon defined information
> quantitatively, introduced the bit, and created the theoretical basis for
> communication, coding, and digital information systems.
>
> 3. Alan Turing
>
> *Information processing and computability* Turing’s model of computation
> formalized the idea of information transformation by machines and laid the
> groundwork for all digital information processing.
>
> 4. Donald Knuth
>
> *Structure and organization of information processes* Knuth systematized
> algorithms, data structures, and the analysis of information processes,
> shaping the mathematical culture of information science.
>
> 5. George Miller
>
> *Cognitive foundations of information* Miller’s work on memory, chunking,
> and human information processing established the cognitive dimension of
> information science and influenced HCI, IR, and knowledge organization.
>
> 6. Luciano Floridi
>
> *Philosophy and ethics of information* Floridi developed the modern
> “philosophy of information,” introducing the concept of the *infosphere*
> and shaping contemporary thinking about digital ethics, meaning, and
> informational ontology.
>
> 7. Mark Burgin
>
> *General Theory of Information* Burgin created the most comprehensive
> formal framework for understanding different types of information, unifying
> mathematical, semantic, and systemic perspectives across disciplines.
>
>
>
> Foundational Thinkers in Information Science - thematic
> schools   (principle 3)
>
> Information science is an interdisciplinary field that studies the nature,
> creation, organization, representation, processing, communication, and use
> of information. It integrates perspectives from computing, cognitive
> science, philosophy, communication studies, and systems theory. The field
> can be understood through several thematic schools, each illuminating a
> different dimension of informational phenomena.
>
> 1. The Logical and Methodological School
>
> This school provides the formal foundations for understanding information
> as structured, rule‑governed content. Key figures include:
>
>    - Gottlob Frege — modern logic and the structure of meaning
>    - Alonzo Church — λ‑calculus and formal systems
>    - Alan Turing — formal models of computation and information processing
>    - Al‑Khwarizmi — algorithmic procedures as systematic information
>    transformations
>
> These thinkers established the idea that information can be represented,
> manipulated, and reasoned about through formal symbolic systems.
>
> 2. The Information Systems and Architecture School
>
> This school focuses on the technological infrastructures that store,
> transform, and transmit information. Key contributors:
>
>    - John Atanasoff — early digital information processing
>    - John von Neumann — architectures for information storage and
>    manipulation
>    - Charles Babbage — conceptual foundations of programmable information
>    systems
>
> Their work underlies modern information systems, databases, and digital
> infrastructures.
>
> 3. The Representation and Language School
>
> This tradition studies how information is encoded, structured, and made
> accessible. Key figures:
>
>    - Grace Hopper — machine‑independent symbolic representation
>    - John Backus — formal grammars for information expression
>    - Niklaus Wirth — structured information representation and modularity
>
> This school connects information science with linguistics, metadata
> design, and knowledge representation.
>
> 4. The Algorithmic and Structural School
>
> Here the focus is on the organization, transformation, and optimization of
> information. Key contributors:
>
>    - Donald Knuth — systematic analysis of information processes
>    - Edsger Dijkstra — formal reasoning about information flows
>    - Robert Tarjan — data structures as information architectures
>
> This school forms the backbone of information retrieval, indexing, and
> data organization.
>
> 5. The Cognitive and Human‑Information Interaction School
>
> This school examines how humans perceive, interpret, store, and use
> information. Key figures:
>
>    - Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell, Herbert Simon — symbolic models of
>    knowledge
>    - George Miller, Ulric Neisser — cognitive structures and memory
>    - David Marr — computational theories of perception
>
> This tradition connects information science with psychology, HCI, and
> knowledge organization.
>
> 6. The Communication and Networking School
>
> This school studies how information flows across systems and societies.
> Key contributors:
>
>    - Vint Cerf, Robert Kahn — global information networks
>    - Leonard Kleinrock — information flow and queuing theory
>    - Tim Berners‑Lee — the Web as a universal information space
>
> Their work defines the modern infosphere.
>
> 7. The Security and Trust School
>
> This tradition focuses on protecting information and ensuring its
> integrity. Key figures:
>
>    - Whitfield Diffie, Martin Hellman — secure information exchange
>    - Rivest, Shamir, Adleman — cryptographic foundations of trust
>
> This school underpins digital identity, privacy, and secure communication.
>
> 8. The Intelligent Information Processing School
>
> This school studies how information can be interpreted, learned, and
> transformed by artificial systems. Two major lines:
>
>    - Symbolic AI (McCarthy, Minsky) — information as structured knowledge
>    - Neural AI (Hinton, Bengio, LeCun) — information as distributed
>    representations
>
> This tradition shapes modern information retrieval, recommendation
> systems, and machine learning.
>
> 9. The Philosophy of Information School
>
> This school investigates the ontological, epistemological, and ethical
> dimensions of information. Key thinkers:
>
>    - Luciano Floridi — the infosphere and information ethics
>    - Kun Wu — informational metaphysics
>    - Mark Burgin — General Theory of Information
>    - Krassimir Markov — General Information Theory and informational
>    structures
>
> They explore what information *is*, how it relates to reality, and how
> informational processes shape cognition, society, and technology.
>
>
>
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!WBro9uSPsos4ng6PLMHTimm7QCpGeOxB4btWssv5teCAusqhgEbxL3dftaWdXIU9gyy9KIQqgiFXLAGOssg$ >
Virus-free.www.avast.com
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!WBro9uSPsos4ng6PLMHTimm7QCpGeOxB4btWssv5teCAusqhgEbxL3dftaWdXIU9gyy9KIQqgiFXLAGOssg$ >
<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listas.unizar.es/pipermail/fis/attachments/20260110/c77ace10/attachment-0001.html>