In the Beginning was Information

Since the concept of information is so complex that it cannot bedefined in one statement (see Figure 12), we will proceed as follows:We will formulate various special theorems which will graduallyreveal more information about the “nature” of information,until we eventually arrive at a precise definition (compare Chapter5). Any repetitions found in the contents of some theorems(redundance) is intentional, and the possibility of having variousdifferent formulations according to Theorem N8 (paragraph 2.3), isalso employed.3.2 Information: A Material or a Mental Quantity?We have indicated that Shannon’s definition of information encompassesonly a very minor aspect of information. Several authorshave repeatedly pointed out this defect, as the following quotationsshow:Karl Steinbuch, a German information scientist [S11]: “The classicaltheory of information can be compared to the statement thatone kilogram of gold has the same value as one kilogram of sand”.Warren Weaver, an American information scientist [S7]: “Twomessages, one of which is heavily loaded with meaning and theother which is pure nonsense, can be exactly equivalent ... asregards information.”Ernst von Weizsäcker [W3]: “The reason for the ‘uselessness’ ofShannon’s theory in the different sciences is frankly that no sciencecan limit itself to its syntactic level” 6 .The essential aspect of each and every piece of information is itsmental content, and not the number of letters used. If one disregardsthe contents then Jean Cocteau’s facetious remark is relevant:“The greatest literary work of art is basically nothing but ascrambled alphabet”.6 Many authors erroneously elevate Shannon’s information theory to the syntacticlevel. This is however not justified in the light of Appendix A1, since it comprisesonly the statistical aspects of a message, without regard to syntactic rules.45