RE: [Fis] CONCLUDING THE SESSION

>Of course, we may cut communication adrift from the reality of
the cell-cycle (and so get it in a very simplified way, eg, Shannonian
way
as Loet suggested) but then we pay the heavy price of a complete
'meaning'
disappearance... and we leave information only as an abstract construct
or
metrics that is definitely separated from life's own structures. Well,
it
can be done, but we renounce to a coherent informational view of the
cell
(and of other 'informational' entities).

There is perhaps a bit of misunderstanding here. The information can be
provided with meaning only by a system. The system then updates its
information content. This system can be a cell, but also a psyche or an
economy.

In this case, the cell generates "meaningful information" or negentropy
(Brillouin, 1962). The expected information content, however, is defined
before a system of reference is implied. It is meaningless
"uncertainty". The specification of a system of reference (e.g., the
cell or an economy) makes it possible to discuss the meaning of
information and also to attribute dimensions to the probability
distributions under study. In the mathematical theory of communication,
however, the information is still dimensionless (e.g., bits).

(...)

> Let me add that re-reading the recent messages another future
discussion to
organize should revolve around entropy --the numerous misunderstandings,
misconceptions, etc. surrounding it, precisely in its connection with
Shannon (for instance, arguing with Loet, thermodynamic entropy is
indeed
'dimensionless': it has units, but no dimensions, as 'temperature'
itself
has dimensions of energy--see John Collier excellent posting in this
list
about the subject-- and so they cancel each other). I also would like to

The probabilistic entropy (bits) should not be confounded with the
thermodynamic entropy which is defined in terms of Watts/Kelvin, isn't
it? The system of reference is in the thermodynamic case the movement of
particles in terms of energy and momenta.

With kind regards,

Loet

  _____

Loet Leydesdorff
Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR)
Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam
Tel.: +31-20- 525 6598; fax: +31-20- 525 3681
 <mailto:loet@leydesdorff.net> loet@leydesdorff.net ;
<http://www.leydesdorff.net/> http://www.leydesdorff.net/

 
 <http://www.upublish.com/books/leydesdorff-sci.htm> The Challenge of
Scientometrics ; <http://www.upublish.com/books/leydesdorff.htm> The
Self-Organization of the Knowledge-Based Society
Received on Wed Oct 8 16:51:16 2003