1.What is information?
Information is knowledge derived from data. Information consists of data , images , text , documents and sound. Information is anything that we see ,we hear, we know and we talk.
In the books and papers on brain science, cognitive science, etc., one of the most frequently used terms is information. We are told that brains and their various subunits — down to the level of a single neuron — process information, store it, retrieve it, transmit it, etc. They do, indeed. The point, however, is that we are not told what information is. Perhaps information is meant to be understood in the sense first given by C. Shannon? If so, it would be a huge misunderstanding for at least two reasons. First, his approach is entirely content-neutral. It concerns only technical/economical, quantitative problems of data transmission and communication. Brain activity, on the other hand, is concerned with regulation and control, where the content of information matters a lot. Furthermore, since according to Shannon's approach information is what reduces uncertainty, the whole idea presupposes such things as knowledge of a priori probabilities — a requirement which can hardly be attributed to, say, frogs and butterflies. It can serve well the purposes of mathematicians and engineers dealing with well-specified communication problems, but it is useless with regard to the systems which must cope with varieties of environmental stimuli.
I suppose that what is taken for granted here is a commonsense, mentalistic connotation: information is thought to be a piece of knowledge. If this is the assumption being made, we must either flatly reject it because of its strong anthropocentric bias, or we must treat it figuratively, as a conventional term of art with no objective counterpart in reality.
Consider the genetic code, for example. We are often told that genes contain information on all phenotypic properties, as if genes were a kind of blueprint. The cells themselves do not of course "know" that their aggregated activity will in some distant future lead to definite phenomenal properties. In no phase of the processes involved is "information" concerning these phenomenal properties available to the genes or cells. It is we who know that such a relationship obtains. Now, if any information at all is to be available to the cells, it must be something which determines their activity. And a future state of affairs cannot, of course, do that; that would be sheer teleology.
My thesis is that "information" is — epistemologically — a realist category: what I call information is something "out there" in the objective reality, not just a useful term of art residing in the investigator's mind only. It has no mass, energy, or spatial extension, it cannot be seen, touched, or smelled. Nevertheless it is a distinct, objective entity.
source
2.Users of information?
There are many kinds of information users in the modern world . not just personal users. They include users in: business and industry education research and development entertainment source3.Good and poor information?
The good news is, there is a great quantity of information available. The bad news is that a lot of that information is of limited value to us as individuals. We are bombarded daily with data and information in every conceivable form. From friends, family and colleagues to television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet; we try to navigate our way through a bewildering array of pitches, suggestions, warnings, slogans, pictures, numbers, and sound bites. At some point all of this is supposed to lead to some rational conclusion about what is right for us. As individuals, it is very difficult to know what information to absorb and what to screen out.
- ACCURATE - Information that is true, verifiable and not deceptive. Accurate career information is based on empirical data and can be validated by comparing sources or checking for internal consistency.
- CURRENT - Information that is applicable to the present time. Keeping information current requires a process of eliminating the old and adding the new. While some types of information are more perishable than others, it is generally accepted that occupation and education information should be reviewed and updated annually to be current.
- RELEVANT - Relevant information applies to the interests of the individuals who use it for the decisions they are facing. It should reduce a person's uncertainties about work and education while facilitating choice and planning. Since we live and work in local labor markets rather than in national ones, the better description of local conditions, the more relevant it is to us. Therefore, state and local information is usually more valuable than national.
- SPECIFIC - For information to be specific, it must contain concrete facts. General observations are often interesting and can provide a background for further analysis, but specific facts are essential to realistic planning and decision making.
- UNDERSTANDABLE - People using information must be able to comprehend it before they can use it. Data must be analyzed and converted into words. The content of the message should avoid ambiguities and be informative to the intended audience.
- COMPREHENSIVE - The information should include all the important categories within its scope of coverage. For CIS that includes the full range of occupational opportunities, their related educational programs of study and training, and the schools that offer them as the core. Related to that is information about money for school, looking for work, employers and industries, working for yourself, and so on.
- UNBIASED - This characteristic is about the motivation or purpose for which the information is being produced and delivered. It is unbiased when the individual or organization delivering the information has no vested interest in the decisions or plans of the people who are receiving the information.
- COMPARABLE - The information presented should be of uniform collection, analysis, content, and format so that a user of the information can compare and contrast the various occupation, program of study, and school files.
source
The poor information is not useful information.
