<html><head>
<style id="signatureStyle" type="text/css">#x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #x6d48cd6784e049409ff4972e00ee71a6 a, #x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048 a, #x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048 #x4f407acb80d4411 #x775eaf3ae7f6460082dcdda3faf877c6 a
{color: rgb(0, 0, 238);}
#x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #x6d48cd6784e049409ff4972e00ee71a6 a:visited, #x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048 a:visited, #x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048 #x4f407acb80d4411 #x775eaf3ae7f6460082dcdda3faf877c6 a:visited
{color: rgb(85, 26, 139);}
#x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #x6d48cd6784e049409ff4972e00ee71a6, #x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #x6d48cd6784e049409ff4972e00ee71a6 #x4f407acb80d4411 #x775eaf3ae7f6460082dcdda3faf877c6, #x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048, #x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048 #x4f407acb80d4411 #x775eaf3ae7f6460082dcdda3faf877c6
{font-family: 'Segoe UI'; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);}
#x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #x6d48cd6784e049409ff4972e00ee71a6 #x4f407acb80d4411 #x775eaf3ae7f6460082dcdda3faf877c6, #x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048 #x4f407acb80d4411 #x775eaf3ae7f6460082dcdda3faf877c6
{font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;}
#x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #x6d48cd6784e049409ff4972e00ee71a6, #x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048, #x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74
{font-family: 'Segoe UI'; font-size: 12pt;}
#x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048 #x4f407acb80d4411 #x775eaf3ae7f6460082dcdda3faf877c6 #x920d19d74fc84b0 #x337b22579712426abf55c20f258d0a74 p.MsoNormal, #x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048 #x4f407acb80d4411 #x775eaf3ae7f6460082dcdda3faf877c6 #x920d19d74fc84b0 #x337b22579712426abf55c20f258d0a74 div.MsoNormal
{margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;}
#x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048 #x4f407acb80d4411 #x775eaf3ae7f6460082dcdda3faf877c6 #x920d19d74fc84b0 #x337b22579712426abf55c20f258d0a74 a:link
{color: blue; text-decoration: underline;}
#x7d2cd7f397de4e3 #x78c9f4c0540648e7b564d127ae9a7d74 #x068ffe68e305459 #xd031ae4a00354d21ab008b16080cd048 #x4f407acb80d4411 #x775eaf3ae7f6460082dcdda3faf877c6 #x920d19d74fc84b0 #x337b22579712426abf55c20f258d0a74 a:visited
{color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline;}
</style><style type="text/css"></style><style id="css_styles" type="text/css">blockquote.cite { margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right:0px; border-left: 1px solid #cccccc }
blockquote.cite2 {margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right:0px; border-left: 1px solid #cccccc; margin-top: 3px; padding-top: 0px; }
a img { border: 0px; }
li[style='text-align: center;'], li[style='text-align: right;'] { list-style-position: inside;}
body { font-family: Segoe UI; font-size: 12pt; }</style>
</head>
<body><div id="xfdd6b96342dc4bd"><blockquote cite="VI1PR0202MB3503C69944DD08F50FC7C6A18CE30@vi1pr0202mb3503.eurprd02.prod.outlook.com" type="cite" class="cite2"><div style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><div style="margin: 0px 0cm 0.000133333px; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Take
away the agent, information does not exist, has no reason of being. <br />
And the reason of being of information is its meaning for the agent. Information exists only by i</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">ts meaning for the agent which uses it to satisfy its constraints.</span></div></div></blockquote><font face="Times New Roman, serif">Indeed, information does not "exist"; nevertheless one can specify an expected information value. The inference that information exists as meaning is unwarranted, in my opinion. One can perhaps find there a footprint of the information. Information remains<i> res cogitans.</i></font></div><div id="xfdd6b96342dc4bd"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><br /></font></div><div id="xfdd6b96342dc4bd"><font face="Times New Roman, serif">Weaver (1949, p. 8): </font></div><div id="xfdd6b96342dc4bd"><font face="Times New Roman, serif">"The word<i> information, </i>in this (that is, Shannon's) theory, is used in a special sense that must not be confused with its ordinary usage. In particular,<i> information</i> must not be confused with meaning." </font></div><div id="xfdd6b96342dc4bd"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><br /></font></div><div id="xfdd6b96342dc4bd"><font face="Times New Roman, serif">Best, </font></div><div id="xfdd6b96342dc4bd"><font face="Times New Roman, serif">Loet</font></div><div id="xfdd6b96342dc4bd"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><br /></font><blockquote cite="VI1PR0202MB3503C69944DD08F50FC7C6A18CE30@vi1pr0202mb3503.eurprd02.prod.outlook.com" type="cite" class="cite2"><div style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><div style="margin: 0px 0cm 0.000133333px; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br />
The agent can then be looked at as “an identifiable entity submitted to internal constraints and capable of actions for the satisfaction of the constraints” (see para 3.2.3 in
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><a href="https://philpapers.org/rec/MENCSA-2" id="LPlnk699524">https://philpapers.org/rec/MENCSA-2</a>).
<br />
This would bring to a definition of information like “energy variation which leads an agent to generate meanings to satisfy its constraints” (looks like a rewording of “a difference that makes a difference"….)
<br />
Best<br />
Christophe<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
<br />
</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<hr tabindex="-1" style="display:inline-block; width:98%" />
<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="font-size:11pt"><b>De :</b> Fis <<a href="mailto:fis-bounces@listas.unizar.es">fis-bounces@listas.unizar.es</a>> de la part de Loet Leydesdorff <<a href="mailto:loet@leydesdorff.net">loet@leydesdorff.net</a>><br />
<b>Envoyé :</b> vendredi 6 mars 2020 07:47<br />
<b>À :</b> João Alvaro Carvalho <<a href="mailto:jac@dsi.uminho.pt">jac@dsi.uminho.pt</a>>; fis <<a href="mailto:fis@listas.unizar.es">fis@listas.unizar.es</a>><br />
<b>Objet :</b> Re: [Fis] [External Email] Re: defining information</font>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div>
<div id="x_x73fb77058aed403" style="word-wrap:break-word; line-break:after-white-space">
<blockquote type="cite" class="x_cite2" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 0px; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin-top: 3px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div class="">I gave up looking for an unifying definition of information.</div>
<div class="">As soon I switch to another context (for example, moving from the context of organisational work to the human mind or to the cell) the key features are different.</div>
<div class=""><br class="" />
</div>
</blockquote>
This problem is precisely a reason to stick to a content-free, i.e., mathematical definition of information. Information can then further be made relevant in any special theory. The application is not dimension-free. </div>
<div id="x_x73fb77058aed403" style="word-wrap:break-word; line-break:after-white-space">
<br />
</div>
<div id="x_x73fb77058aed403" style="word-wrap:break-word; line-break:after-white-space">
Best,</div>
<div id="x_x73fb77058aed403" style="word-wrap:break-word; line-break:after-white-space">
Loet</div>
<div id="x_x73fb77058aed403" style="word-wrap:break-word; line-break:after-white-space">
<br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote></div>
</body></html>