In the Beginning was Information

Ease of transmission (e. g. Morse code) Technological legibility (e. g. universal product codes andpostal bar codes) Ease of detecting errors (e. g. special error detecting codes) Ease of correcting errors (e. g. Hamming code and genetic code) Ease of visualising tones (musical notes) Representation of the sounds of natural languages (alphabets) Redundance for counteracting interference errors (various computercodes and natural languages; written German has forexample a redundancy of 66 %) Maximisation of storage density (genetic code) ??? the foraging-bee danceThe choice of code depends on the mode of communication: If acertain mode of transmission has been adopted for technologicalreasons depending on some physical or chemical phenomenon orother, then the code must comply with the relevant requirements.In addition, the ideas of the sender and the recipient must be intune with one another to guarantee certainty of transmission andreception (see Figures 14 and 15). The most complex setups of thiskind are again found in living systems. Various existing types ofspecial message systems are reviewed below: Acoustic transmission (Conveyed by means of sounds):– Natural spoken languages used by humans– Mating and warning calls of animals (e. g. songs of birds andwhales)– Mechanical transducers (e. g. loudspeakers, sirens, and foghorns)– Musical instruments (e. g. piano and violin) Optical transmission (carried by light waves):– Written languages– Technical drawings (e. g. for constructing machines andbuildings, and electrical circuit diagrams)– Technical flashing signals (e. g. identifying flashes of lighthouses)– Flashing signals produced by living organisms (e. g. firefliesand luminous fishes)– Flag signals60