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What is the significance of information in a communication system? Okay. So far, I have defined information and talked all about it-- how it exists and can be communicated. Now that this is out of the way, and we know how information can and cannot exist, it is time to discuss significance and meaning. The American Heritage Dictionary provides defines significance and meaning such that one might believe the two terms are interchangeable--and in everyday usage, they probably are. Let's deal with significance and meaning one at a time, shall we? First up is significance. We can start figuring out what significance is by looking at what others have to say about it. We can go straight to the American Heritage Dictionary, which says that significance is: The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. significant 1. Having or expressing a meaning; meaningful. 2. Having or expressing a covert meaning; suggestive: a significant glance. See synonyms at expressive. 3. Having or likely to have a major effect; important: a significant change in the tax laws. 4. Fairly large in amount or quantity: significant casualties; no significant opposition. 5. Statistics Of or relating to observations or occurrences that are too closely correlated to be attributed to chance and therefore indicate a systematic relationship. http://www.bartleby.com/61/3/S0400300.html This is not a very satisfying definition. I hold that it does not do to lump significance and meaning together; they are two different terms that mean two different things and each should be defined and dealt with accordingly. Since the above definition tells us very little, I'll look at the definition of its opposite-- what is insignificant.
The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. insignificant 1. Not significant, especially: a. Lacking in importance; trivial. b. Lacking power, position, or value; worthy of little regard. c. Small in size or amount. 2. Having little or no meaning. http://www.bartleby.com/61/31/I0163100.html Part b of the definition above, "lacking power, position, or value", provides some insight as to what is significant. If the terms significant and insignificant are opposites, then something that is significant would have power, position, or value. So now what? Well, we can try to work backward. What is significant? Something that signifies. What signifies? Well, signs signify. So what are signs?
Signs are forms of representation that refer to existing sets of information. The sign can be described and categorized several different ways. I use the system created by American philosopher Charles Sanders Pierce to describe the sign, because it illustrates the differences among forms of information, and shows how these forms are interrelated. The sign is a set of information, created by a person's conscious mind, that represents something else. Pierce defined the sign as: |
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"... something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. It addresses somebody, that is, it creates in the mind of that person an equivalent sign, or perhaps a more developed sign."(Pierce 99) |
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what does a sign do if information signifies something, we can say it is significant. DNA contains significant information because **. Significance must be considered in the context of the inforation/communication system that contains it. okay let's say you have the following comunication system consisting of **. **, and **.: information is sent from ** to **. the information received by ** is significant to the receiver if **. the same physical set of matter and energy that makes information can also be significant ad meaningful? my definition of significance is NOT consistent with the definition of significance given by the American Heritage Dictionary, but it is consistent with the writings of Charles Sanders Pierce. Based on given dictionary definitions of significance and meaning, my own observations and imaginings, and the other ideas expressed in this webpage; I will make general, speculative descriptions of significance and meaning. I make my own definitions of information, significance, and meaning, because while I understand the ones given, I find them both insufficient and insignificant.(give examples)
from general to specific... how I use my own perceptions to make generalizations about how the world works and then use these generalizations to say more about how my own systems work
separation
ability to reproduce situations in the world an have other ppl. agree on the results to establish generalizations-- virtual web
(Some degree of awareness)
I propose that as an organism or mechanism recognizes information within itself, or acknowledges differences among elements of an area of information it carries, significance develops. A thing's significance is determined by what distinguishes it from something else, by the nature and power of those distinctions in a particular context, and the degree to which they are recognized and acknowledged. Significance is information that is an agent of change in the system that contains it. Significance also develops when information being processed affects the components of a communication system. Significance must be considered in terms of the system in which it exists. In other words, if a person considers how something is significant to a computer, she translates that significance or perceives it secondhand. Her interpretation is based on what she knows about the structure of that computer and how it is deals with the information it is processing. The way she perceives its sigificance should be considered in terms of how a human mind deals with significance. It should be acknowledged that while the two significances may be similar or reconciled, they cannot be the same because the systems that produce them are different.
To create or contain significance, a system needs some kind of memory (is this true) or the ability to recognize and retain information. Awareness? hmm.(yes, I think so) Ability to direct or control information?
When I consider what something might signify or mean, it's important that I have as much information related to what is signified as possible, and that I know which information is relevant to my decision.
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