In the Beginning was Information

4. Trivial information: Insignificant or meaningless information(e. g. already known or useless information, clichés, banalities, orsmall talk).5. Harmful information: Information with negative consequences,leading to false results, misconceptions, and other negativeeffects (e. g. deliberate or erroneous misinformation, slander,cursing, agitation, false propaganda, charlatanry, malicious gossip,expletives, sectarian doctrines, unbiblical theology, pornographic,ideological, and astrological publications, and pulp magazines).Valuable information (1 to 3) is accorded a positive sign, andworthless information (4 & 5) a negative sign, so that now we canregard information as a signable quantity. In the x direction (Figure25) we distinguish between usable (positive) and useless (negative)information. We thus have four quadrants for evaluating information,characterised as follows:First quadrant: This is the most important domain, since it comprisesall information that is both useful and valuable. Usefulmeans that the information is available and accessible and can inprinciple be implemented. On the one hand usefulness is an objectiveproperty, but the concept of value concerns a person, an event,a plan, or a purpose and it is always subjective.Second quadrant: The information in this quadrant is also valuableas in the case of the first quadrant, but it cannot be used. Thereare various possible reasons for this:– It is not yet available (e. g. cure for cancer; a book on an importanttheme which has not yet been written).– It cannot be located in the gigantic flood of information.– The author has it available, but it has not yet been transmitted(published).– It is not of topical interest any more.Third and fourth quadrants: This is the domain of worthlessinformation. At the trivial level this comprises meaningless orunordered information: insignificant, inane or nonsensical information.In the amplified harmful form, information can be false (inad-117