Re:Understanding Shannon's Entropy metric for Information [pdf]
by ohnoNotAgain321 on Friday October 08, 2021 @03:50PM
(#28803403)
Any computational system uses symbols, whether or not a person has analysed the system and defined those symbols; information is symbols.
Re:Understanding Shannon's Entropy metric for Information [pdf]
by dr_dshiv on Friday October 08, 2021 @04:11PM
(#28803649)
You are suggesting that information was not existing before symbols?
Re:Understanding Shannon's Entropy metric for Information [pdf]
by arketyp on Friday October 08, 2021 @04:37PM
(#28803897)
Where and when information exists so do symbols, in the abstract sense. It’s not symbols as representation of meaning but symbols as mediating meaning.
Re:Understanding Shannon's Entropy metric for Information [pdf]
by dr_dshiv on Friday October 08, 2021 @05:30PM
(#28804385)
That’s a strong claim that is not common. Humans are generally considered to be the only animals capable of symbolic thought [1]. Information flows in far simpler systems than symbolic systems.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/magazine/hunting-for-the-...
in any case, there seems to be a difference in describing a system with symbols and computational systems that use symbols for information processing. Some information processing seems possible in systems that don’t use symbols.