Introduction: Information Looking more closely at the meaning of information

We live in a world saturated with information. It flows through our conversations, devices, documents, and institutions. We create it, seek it out, store it, share it, and try to make sense of it. We rely on it to make decisions, communicate, learn, and act. And yet, for all its importance, we rarely stop to ask what information actually is or what it does to us and for us.

The word “information” often slips by unnoticed. It appears neutral, familiar, and almost self-explanatory. However, upon closer examination, we discover that its meaning has evolved over time. Initially, to inform meant to shape or to give form to something. It was not about sending content or transmitting facts. It was about transformation—a change in understanding, perception, and our identity or how we view the world. Over time, this richer sense has faded. Today, information is often treated as a unit, a thing to be managed, moved, or measured.

This chapter traces that shift and asks what we might recover by paying attention to the older meanings, and to the variety of ways people across fields understand information today. It begins with the etymology of the word. Then it explores different perspectives, ranging from systems thinking and information theory to the concept of functional information, where information is understood in terms of what it enables or makes possible. We ask whether information is something contained in a document, or whether it arises only in the act of interpretation. We also explore the concept of affordance, which highlights the practical ways in which information offers possibilities for action, depending on the situation and the observer.

Rather than offering a single definition, this chapter presents a range of views. Some are practical, some are conceptual, and some are more reflective in nature. What links them is a shared focus on use and effect. Each piece examines how information comes to matter, not just as a label or a signal, but as something that shapes what we see, how we think, and what we can do next.

By revisiting these foundations, we can begin to ask better questions. Not just what we know, but what that knowledge is doing. Not just how we store or send information, but how it changes us. These questions help shift our attention. They encourage us to think more carefully about the role information plays in our work, our tools, our conversations, and our decisions. They open space for a deeper, more grounded understanding of how meaning is made and remade through what we call information.

Chapter: Information

1. Rethinking Meaning How meaning arises through use and relationship
2. Introduction: Information Looking more closely at the meaning of information
3. A Conversation with ChatGPT Exploring Information An experiment in creating an AI generated audio conversation
4. Etymology of Information What are the roots of the word “information”?
5. What We Mean by Information Seeing the bigger picture behind what we call information
6. Batesonian Information Information is a difference that makes a difference
7. Information Emerges Through Relations Rethinking information through Bateson’s relational lens
8. Information Theory Information is surprise
9. Making Sense of Functional Information Viewing things by how they work, not just how they look
10. Warm Data Understanding meaning through context, not just information
11. Common Questions About Information ** Simple questions that challenge how we think about information
12. The Informational Theory of Life How complexity and selection shape living systems
13. It From Bit Is information more fundamental than matter?