<< y information you usually mean a sequence of bits, ie a string of 1s and
0s. A bit is an abstract thing, and must be encoded somewhere, eg on a
magnetic tape. Information does not provide meaning until you interpret it.
(It is possible for the same piece of information to provide multiple
interpretations, and can thus mean different things to different
observers.)>>
Hmmm... My first thoughts about what someone means about information would be
that they refer to a set of facts about a thing, not a series of bits. But I
agree that one cannot derive information from something until and at the same
point one derives a kind of meaning or significance from it.
<< So maybe one should regard the interpretation as more fundamental that the
information. I like that because it gives you a more process oriented view
(its not as platonic). But then, given the right interpretation, an
interpretation itself can be interpreted as information. And we're kind of
back were we started...
>>
I disagree. I think that there has to be information to be gained via
interpretation. In other words, there must be information before there can be
any interpretation, but there cannot be interpretation without information (no
matter how trivial it might be).
Andrew