A Classification of Information

An unfinished attempt at a full, formal essay:

A Classification of Information

The concept of information is fairly elusive. Even now, especially now, in the Age of Information, the concept of “information” has become widespread and is still gaining importance in society.

In the terms of Computer Science, it is very common to distinguish the concept of “data” from that of “information”. “Data” is concrete, it is a signal, a conveyed message through some medium which may or may not ever be converted into information. Information, however, is necessarily linked to an entity. “Information” is meaning, something necessarily linked to an entity, something which this entity can understand and use for its own purposes.

Information can be classified, however, according to several parameters determined by the type of meaning it holds, and its significance relative to the entity who possesses it.

Identity

Certain information allows an entity to possess a concept of itself. An entity needs Identity Information in order to attain any level of self-consciousness. The identity information that an entity may possess includes the concept of “what” it is, what are its reasons and purposes of existence, and possibly a self-identifying tag, such as a name or nickname, not necessarily the same one it uses for outside communication.

This category does not include information of any useful meaning to other entities. Identity information is, arguably, the proof and the test for an entity’s self-consciousness. Additionally, the information included in this category rarely ever changes, since it incorporates the entity’s very own definition.

State

An entity usually possesses characteristics or attributes whose values (or states) are subject to change. The information in the “State” category joins those concepts related to the entity’s own physical, mental, and emotional state. Examples of these concepts include the entity’s size, volume, weight, current temperature, position/location, feelings, thoughts, internal processes, immediate goals, and current information possessed. Notice that the fact that an entity possesses certain characteristics and that they change through time does not necessarily imply that the entity actually “knows” about its own state. This is only attained when the entity is actually aware of its own state and of the changes that it suffers.

Notice also that this type of information may imply some kind of recursive self-thought. The information that an entity may possess or create about its own internal processes of information creates recursive thought usually present in advanced self-aware beings.

Circunstantial

If an entity is to interact with its environment, it must possess some kind of information about it, either by possessing it initially or by acquiring it through time. For example, as an entity, I may possess information about other entites around myself, like their identity, their relative position, their own state, goals, possible interactions with them, and the means and obstacles that they may represent to my own set of goals. It also includes concepts like the state of the surrounding environment (temperature, humidity, resources), and its relationship and effects on my own state.

Just as information classified in “State” spans the concepts relating to the entity’s own proper characteristics and state, “Circunstantial” information combines all the information relating to the environment’s current characteristics and state. For an interactive entity, the information in this category is usually subject to the most changes, and is therefore the set of information which the entity processes, relates to, and utilizes the most. Notice also that circunstantial information is very subject to change, which implies that the entity must be able to acquire, or perceive, its environment in order to maintain a useful set of circunstantial information.

Universal

Universal Information includes information about the entity’s exterior which will rarely, if ever, need to be changed. Information in this category includes concepts such as physical laws (laws of motion, thermodynamics, gravity), common interaction protocols with distinct kinds of entities, scientific knowledge, historical facts, geographical figures, categorization of other entities, and anything which may be generalized through proper experience.

Universal Information allows an entity to perform decisions. If an entity has a set of defined goals, it must be able to make informed decisions that will lead to their fulfillment. To do this, an entity must know certain pervasive “facts” about its exterior, including the effects of its own actions on itself and on its environment. This “predictive” characteristic of Universal Information is what allows an entity to be truly interactive.

It is worth mentioning that the boundary between circunstantial and universal information is sometimes vague. It it usually up to the entity itself to decide which of its information about its exterior should be considered temporary (Circunstantial), and which should be considered relatively permanent (Universal). Certain entities may consider ranging the information about their exterior in a continuous block between the ephimerous and the unchanging.

Historical

  Information about an entity’s past states and actions may be kept in an entity’s memory. This information is normally used as a predictive or statistical resource to decide on future actions. It may also, on some cases, serve no purpose to the entity itself, and be stored only for the use of other entities to acquire. In this case, these concepts are said to lose their status of “Information” and become mere “data”, because the entity’s state or actions are no longer altered by them. Historical Information is usually referred to as “past memories”, or simply as “journals” or “logs”.