Replying to LO26062 --
Back on February 5, Michael Bayers, replying to Peggy Stuart, wrote in part,
> Here's a
> paraphrase from a textbook I used twenty years ago: something is
> information if it serves to reduce uncertainty in a decision-making
> situation. That is, the value of information lies in its ability to
> reduce uncertainty.
Michael, I'm intrigued and a little disturbed by your assertion. Do you
mean to suggest that whatever "information" may be, its _only_ value lies
in its capacity to reduce uncertainty so we can make decision?
To me, this would suggest that information that charms, amuses, unsettles,
creates awe...well, you can see where I'm going... Would we say, in other
words, that information is valuable only for its immediate utility?
what, then, of the "information" created about the beauty of the universe
I obtain from a Bach unaccompanied sonata?
Or have I misunderstood you?
Malcolm Burson
Director of Special Projects
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
--Malcolm Burson mburson@mint.net
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