Information as Idea;

History, Culture, and Future of Information Science

Daniel J. Pool




Information Science is a paradox. As Rayward (Rayward 1996, 3)

noted it is hard to
define as a science but it is not entirely an art either. The problem lies in the medium of study
itself; Information. Data is arguably as old (or older) than the universe. It would stand to reason
then that the study of information would be problematic. For the casual user this may be
inconvenient but for the information professional this is a constant battle to understand and thus
perform their role to their best. Studying information from an interdisciplinary approach
however, it can be devised that information is ideaor rather thought concepts. Thus, to better
understand the science of information and how it relates to being idea one needs to examine the
history of information, the culture of information, and future of information.
Throughout the history of recorded information, mankind has strived to communicate the
sum of its knowledge to the next generation

(Hobart and Shiffman 2000). Whether this was
through the oral tradition to learn about the adventures and trials of Homer

(Hobart and Shiffman
2000) or through the mass production of religious texts

(Hobart and Shiffman 2000), humanity
strives to pass on earlier generations knowledge. For many untold number of years, groups of
people did this by word of mouth until the invention of paper

(Hobart and Shiffman 2000) which
allowed for more permanent account of information. Later printing

(Hobart and Shiffman 2000)
made this available to the masses. Each time Information changed, so did the technology
presenting it and thus so did the human behavior governing that change

(Heim 1993). With this
change in behavior so too did the culture changed with it.
This change is not always warmly welcomed however as it was when the number of
books being produced overwhelmed the older schools of thought

(Hobart and Shiffman 2000).
This technological Determinism is the trade off between the freedom technology brings as well
as the diminishing understanding of our past

(Friedman 2005). Each generation technologically
separated from their predecessors. Plato even notes that information can create philosopher-kings
but without understanding from the State or general information user their skill is worthless
(Botton, Knight and Jowet 1999). So then society only advances as much as the whole advances.
Plato studied some of the earliest manifestations of information science

(Hobart and
Shiffman 2000). In his dialogues, Plato described Forms or ideas of physical ideas that were
perfection. In his belief there was a connection between an idea and the information it came
from. He goes on to describe how though there is a likeness of ideas to one another each
individual ingests information differently leading to an unlikeness or plurality in human thought

(Hobart and Shiffman 2000).
As the means of production for information are placed in the hands of creators without
regard to their knowledge or skill levels, it creates a culture of information. Writers speculation
varies on what that culture could create in the future. Some foresee a cybertopia of peace

(Friedman 2005) and goodwill while others see a dark dystopian cyber-pocalypse of control

(Friedman 2005). This hails from the way in which the Information Age has changed cultural
interactions with the invention of the computer

(Hobart and Shiffman 2000).
The claims that cyberspace (the world of pure information) could someday lead to a
perfect society that transcends gender, race, age, economic situation, political beliefs, religion,
and philosophy may still be too early to speculate on anything that grand

(Hobart and Shiffman
2000). In fact this discourse maybe best left to science fiction rather than reality for the time
being

(Hobart and Shiffman 2000). Information Culture is not universal and may never be.
In an article entitled Too Poor for Pop Culture, by D. Watkins, the writer discusses a
normal night in his life

(Watkins 2014). He buys cheap alcohol, goes to an apartment overrun by
cockroaches, and plays cards with felons and the people too impoverished to afford a cell phone.
In a conversation about a recent controversy involving the president taking a selfie, the writer
has to explain the term to his friends. To any middle class American a selfie (or a photograph
of oneself taken by oneself) is no more normal than updating the social media websites it will be
posted to. Internet/Cyber/Information Culture is so infused with daily life of the Data Wealthy
that those across the Digital Divide

(Watkins 2014) or people who do not or cannot have access
to that culture are forgotten and lost. Thus showing that technology and information are not
solely able to change culture but so too are participation and availability.
So then--what is information? It is text, words, process, data, numbers, lights, sound,
concept, conversation but what is it really as a concept. In this article alone it has been the
written knowledge of priests and poets, unreal worlds to explore, stories made out of moving
pictures... and ideas. Information and the study there of, is a process of idea making

(Watkins
2014) like a language of thought. Language is an ever changing collection of symbols that
express beliefs, thoughts, information, and data. Language is however a fabricated set of tools to
express information (and information itself) while idea is the natural state

(Bates 2014) of that
information interpreted in the human brain

(Bates 2014). It is collected from stimulus reaching
the brain that is then organized by repeating patterns into digestible packets.
In this way, Information has neither matter nor energy but rather recurring phenomena

(Bates 2014) in the brain. Information in society is like Platos Eros or a drive to extend our
physical selves beyond our mortal existence

(Heim 1993) but more importantly to extend our
knowledge outside ourselves

(Heim 1993). In this way, humans can encode meaning into data
that can then be processed by another to be re-encoded

(Bates 2014). To invoke Plato again, the
best consumer of information is a good thief

(Botton, Knight and Jowet 1999) or rather that one
who is skilled at understand information will regularly take it, encode it, and communicate it, or
re-encode it for themselves.
This is explained well by Paul de Gays model of The Cultural Circuit

(Gay 2014) for
the buying and selling of Sony Walkmen in Figure 1. The model shows how information
consumption and the sales of an electronic good are both comparable. Data is available in a
system that is either being produced, consumed, represented, identified, or regulated. The system
always folds back to one of the five points but never leaves.
To put in terms of a consumer, a data point is presented to an individual. They identify

(Gay 2014) it and it is consumed. They will then regulate that information internally until they
have a need to represent it, such as discussing it in a classroom or producing it like a skill or
trade.
Returning then to the original question, what is Information Science? It is fair to say the
phrase could be widely defined but for brevity it can narrowly explained by Rayward as, ...to
study in a formal and rigorous way processes, techniques, conditions, and effects that are
entailed in improving the efficacy of information, variously defined and understood, as deployed
and used for a range of purposes related to individual, social and organizational needs

(Rayward
1996). Put simply, Information Science is the study of the exchange of data with an emphasis in
how to better facilitate that exchange.
So then, in this Modern Era we must remember the gravity that increased information
brings to our society. From simple hunting and gatherers to nuclear capable nations

(Wessells
1990) humanity needs to exercise responsibility

(Wessells 1990). The peace and Cybertopia
promised by the continued use of information and technology is only possible as long as
humanity, and Information Scientists as its practitioners, fight for it

(Friedman 2005).
Information has brought humanity together and evolved our culture and ideals throughout time
and will continue to move us toward the ideal and perfect society

(Hobart and Shiffman 2000)
but only persistence on the part of consumer, information professional, and time will tell if that
ideal can be reached.
In conclusion, information is idea or applied thought concepts derived from our
environment and self. It is the moving, evolving, and innate force in sentient beings that shapes
their culture and society. Through technology, society develops closer bonds that allow for
accelerated exchange between individuals. In practice it is the language of thought and
Information Science its study.

Bibliography
Bates, Marcia J. "Fundamental Forms of Information." Journal of the American Society for
Information Science and Technology: (2006). 1-13.
Botton, Alain, M J. Knight, and Benjamin Jowet. The Essential Plato. New York: Quality
Paperback Book Club: (1999). 1-416.
Friedman, Ted. Electric Dreams. New York: New York University Press: (2005). 1-275.
Heim, Michael. The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality. New York: Oxford University Press: (1993).
1-175.
Hobart, Michael E., and Zachary S. Schiffman. Information Ages; literacy, numeracy, and the
computer revolution. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press: (2000). 1-301.
Rayward, W. B. "The History and Historiography of Information Science: Some Reflections."
Information Processing & Management 32.1: (1996). 3-17.
Watkins, D. "Too Poor for Pop Culture." Salon. Ed. David Daley, accessed February 9, 2014.
<http://www.salon.com/2014/02/05/too_poor_for_pop_culture/>.
Wessells, Michael G. Computer, Self, and Society. Prentice-Hall, Inc.: (1990).
Appendix
Figure 1 - The Cultural Circuit

Gay, Paul. "The Cultural Circuit." Chart. The Open University of Hong Kong . Web. 9 Feb. 2014