Fifty years ago in ETC: Retrospect

[...]questions like "How much does he know?" or "How much has he said?" are still considered by most people as metaphorical uses of the concept "How much?" In the mathematical theory of information and communication, these questions acquire precise meaning, that is, the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Etc. 2002-01, Vol.59 (4), p.465
Main Authors: Rapoport, Anatol, Weaver, Warren, Gerard, R W, Kirk, John R, Bateson, Gregory
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior Patterns
Chemistry
Coding
Communication (Thought Transfer)
Engineering
Information Theory
Metalinguistics
Organic Chemistry
Physiology
Psychological Patterns
Resistance (Psychology)
Scientific Concepts
Semantics
Speech
Thermodynamics
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Summary:[...]questions like "How much does he know?" or "How much has he said?" are still considered by most people as metaphorical uses of the concept "How much?" In the mathematical theory of information and communication, these questions acquire precise meaning, that is, they indicate operationally meaningful procedures aimed at obtaining answers. What is meant by the equivalence is that the more disordered a portion of the world is, the more information is required to describe it completely, that is, to make it known. [...]the process of obtaining knowledge is quantitatively equated to the process of ordering portions of the world. ANATOL RAPOPORT "WHAT IS INFORMATION?" Three Levels of Communications Problems Relative to the broad subject of communication, there seem to be problems at three levels. [...]it seems reasonable to ask serially: LEVEL A. How accurately can the symbols of communication be transmitted? (The technical problem.) LEVEL B. How precisely do the transmitted symbols convey the desired meaning? (The semantic problem.) LEVEL C. How effectively does the received meaning affect conduct in the desired way? (The effectiveness problem.) The technical problems are concerned with the accuracy of transference from sender to receiver of sets of symbols (written speech), or of a continuously varying signal (telephonic or radio transmission of voice or music), or of a continuously varying two-dimensional pattern (television), etc. According to scientific evidence, it does, but we cannot - without obvious circularity (the problem of induction) - rely on this evidence for appraising the scientific method itself.
ISSN:0014-164X
2168-9245