Information and Society Notes

What is Information?

• Information is the use of human-made symbols to convey a complex and nuanced sense of reality. It not only allows individuals to communicate thoughts and ideas but also helps to interpret and interact with the world around them.

• Information can be communicated via various forms of language, visual representations, and symbols, and is embedded in nature and various facets of human civilization.

• Examples:

  • The alignment of stars, galaxies, and planets, which not only guided ancient navigation but also shaped cultural myths, stories, and calendars.

  • Trees in dormancy during winter, a natural indication of seasonal cycles, or their budding in spring, symbolizing renewal and growth in ecosystems.

  • Strands of DNA, which carry genetic information crucial for the development and maintenance of living organisms, illustrating the complexity of biological information processing.

  • The Tyrell 3020, potentially representing advanced technological data or an example of how artificial intelligence can simulate human-like understanding.

Historic Examples

• Cher Ami: The storied World War I pigeon that flew over enemy lines to carry a crucial message from an American battalion, showcasing the lengths to which information can travel and the lives that can depend on it.

• NILI: A secret Jewish spy network during World War I that operated within Palestine. The members communicated critical intelligence about Turkish troop movements through covert signals, such as the systematic opening and closing of house shutters.

• Saga of Sarah Aaronsohn: Explores the contributions of female spies in the NILI network and their significant impact on the war effort.

Rauchian vs. Hararian View

• Rauchian view: This perspective defines information as the endeavor to discover objective truths.

  • It posits that the fundamental goal of an epistemic network is to seek out and identify universal truths that can be widely accepted and understood.

• Hararian view: Contrarily, the Hararian perspective emphasizes that truth discovery is merely one facet of the broader concept of information.

  • It suggests that information fulfills diverse roles and serves multiple purposes beyond merely seeking out the truth.

Why the Hararian View?

• Reality has multiple levels.

  • Example: Various expressions of American power, from its military presence to cultural influence, illustrate how information conveys different layers of understanding.

• Reality has different dimensions.

  • Example: The contrasting frameworks of major corporations like Apple and Alphabet highlight how information can represent varying aspects of economic and innovative landscapes.

The Hararian View Explained

• Information is not solely about finding truths but often exists to create new realities, applications, and paradigms.

• Examples:

  • The transmission and manipulation of information in fields such as genetics (i.e., DNA), artistic expressions, academic research, and digital landscapes like the Metaverse.

Information in Human History

• Information has historically served two critical purposes:

  • Primary purpose: To forge connections among humans through the creation, telling, and sharing of communal stories, which foster a sense of identity and belonging.

    • Examples include familial narratives, community myths, religious texts, and national histories.

    • These stories act as ordering mechanisms that cultivate cooperation and social cohesion, reinforcing shared values and beliefs.

  • Second purpose: The modern manifestation emphasizes the role of information in truth-finding and knowledge accumulation, crucial for informed decision-making in society.

Ordering vs. Truth Seeking

• The tension between these two purposes raises critical questions:

  • Which is more vital for society—ordering to create social bonds or truth-seeking to improve knowledge?

Poetry

• The narratives of nations are often imagined and constructed by poets, visionaries, and philosophers who envision ideal communities.

• They create bonds with mythic gods and nature, crafting collective identities that define belonging.

• This mythmaking process is essential for defining cultural rituals and rites, which help socialize future generations into shared belief systems.

Prose

• While storytelling weaves the fabric of communal memory, practical governance is the backbone of community sustainability.

• Without addressing logistical needs—such as taxation, communication systems, and public health—societies cannot thrive.

• The fragility of human memory necessitates recording governance and social norms through various symbols, including language and mathematics

  • This encompasses a range of mediums, from ancient tablets and scrolls to modern digital records and databases.

• The evolution of these recording practices leads to increased bureaucratization, which is vital for effective governance and the organization of complex societies.

Bureaucracies and the Search for Truth

• The systematic collection, classification, organization, and utilization of information are crucial for the establishment of societal truths and norms.

• Bureaucracies attempt to impose order on complex realities, often oversimplifying them for effective governance and oversight.

• Complex phenomena, such as the COVID pandemic, often stretch across various disciplines—historical, biological, sociological, and political—underscoring the difficulty of engaging with subjects holistically.

Truth and Contention

• Both mythmaking and bureaucratic structures are essential for the formulation and organization of large, complex societies.

• Societal acceptance of myths is generally high, while bureaucratic practices are met with skepticism and scrutiny.

• The reality of human-bureaucratic-document interactions is characterized by contention:

  • Conflicting interests and contradictions emerge as diverse stakeholders interpret information differently.

  • These conflicts often lead to oversimplifications intended to satisfy public demands, which can result in flawed assumptions and ineffective solutions.

• Historical patterns reveal a tendency to destroy written records as a form of rebellion against authority, indicating the profound connection between information, power, and the enforcement of reality.

• When written words are obliterated, the constructed realities they represent can dissipate or become significantly altered.