Up to this point, the examples of information and information systems presented in this hypertext have been discussed as if they exist in a fixed state. The process of identification often involves fixing information in a static representation-- as if the information itself existed in a static state-- to establish its structure. However, as stated near the beginning of the hypertext, information is matter or energy that indicates change. Therefore, unless it is stored, it is made of matter or energy that is in motion from one moment in time to the next. At the least, a fixed representation of information should be considered should be considered as part of a series of fixed states that change from one particular unit of time to another.

To know how an information system exists over time, a person must know how different activities, processes, and behaviors -- such as transmission, transformation, recognition, coding, interpretation, storage and communication -- indicate specific states of existence or patterns of organization that change over time.

Many of these processes can occur simultaneously within an information system, but representing the structure, content, and movements of a particular area of information in their entirety can become quite complicated and difficult. At best, a person can approximate an entire area of information as closely as possible. A person's ability to understand complex entities and systems relates to a person's ability to describe them. Thus, the description itself must be complex and capable of representing processes that are conceptually and actually complex. A person who expertly understands a particular modes of representation can use it to not only visualize the movement of the matter and energy that comprises an area of information, but visualize it precisely.

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