Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 2.5
The intelligence
process 2
Insight
Perceptions
Concepts
Problem
Solution
Abstract
Abduce
Reason
Fig. 2.6
The role of
intelligence in
communication
Information
Source
Destination
Message
Inferred
Message
Representation
Intelligence
Interpretation
Coded
Message
Received
Coded Message
Transmier
Receiver
Signal
The second process is the proposal or generation of a model (an equation in
the above case for
). The model must be guessed from the signal, and thus the
process of guessing will be called
abduction
. Note that the abductive process does
not guarantee a completely successful model. Strictly speaking both these processes
are abduction, and to distinguish between them, the second process may be called
retroduction
(after Peirce).
We can now see that intelligence changes the interpreter (the model) so as to
minimise the entropy of the communication system (see Fig.
2.6
).
We need 'purpose'
in order to avoid the trivial solution of minimising of entropy by switching off the
signal altogether
. We must assume that the correct identification of the message is
important. The problem is that the intelligence process does not know either what
the range of messages might be or what part of the signal carries the messages.
π
2.3.1
The Distinction Between Information and Knowledge
As an aside, it has puzzled some people that noise turns out to have high information
because of its unpredictability. We can now see a distinction between
information
and
knowledge
by asking the question of a signal, “
This is information about what?
”
Only those events that provide material evidence towards the act of insight and lead
towards the reduction of entropy can be called knowledge. Events that are uncertain
have varying degrees of information, but
events that are uncertain and contain the
seeds of certainty (an insight is possible) represent knowledge
.
