Information can be thought of as the resolution of uncertainty; it is that which answers the question

of "what an entity is" and thus defines both its essence and nature of its characteristics. It is
associated with data, as data represents values attributed to parameters, and information is data in
context and with meaning attached[1]. Information relates also to knowledge, as knowledge signifies
understanding of an abstract or concrete concept.[2]
In terms of communication, information is expressed either as the content of a message or through
direct or indirect observation. That which is perceived can be construed as a message in its own
right, and in that sense, information is always conveyed as the content of a message.
Information can be encoded into various forms for transmission and interpretation (for example,
information may be encoded into a sequence of signs, or transmitted via a signal). It can also
be encrypted for safe storage and communication.
The uncertainty of an event is measured by its probability of occurrence and is inversely proportional
to that. The more uncertain an event, the more information is required to resolve uncertainty of that
event. The bit is a typical unit of information, but other units such as the nat may be used. For
example, the information encoded in one "fair" coin flip is log2(2/1) = 1 bit, and in two fair coin flips is
log2(4/1) = 2 bits.
The concept of information has different meanings in different contexts.[3] Thus the concept becomes
related to notions
of constraint, communication, control, data, form, education, knowledge, meaning, understanding, m
ental stimuli, pattern, perception, representation, and entropy.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2Information theory approach
 3As sensory input
 4As representation and complexity
 5As an influence that leads to transformation
 6As a property in physics
 7The application of information study
 8Technologically mediated information
 9As records
 10Semiotics
 11See also
 12References
 13Further reading
 14External links

Etymology[edit]
See also: History of the word and concept "information"
The English word apparently derives from the Latin stem (information-) of the nominative
(informatio): this noun derives from the verb informare (to inform) in the sense of "to give form to the
mind", "to discipline", "instruct", "teach". Inform itself comes (via French informer) from the Latin
verb informare, which means to give form, or to form an idea of. Furthermore, Latin itself already
contained the word informatio meaning concept or idea, but the extent to which this may have
influenced the development of the word information in English is not clear.
The ancient Greek word for form was μορφή (morphe; cf. morph) and also εἶδος (eidos) "kind, idea,
shape, set", the latter word was famously used in a technical philosophical sense by Plato (and
later Aristotle) to denote the ideal identity or essence of something (see Theory of Forms). 'Eidos'
can also be associated with thought, proposition, or even concept.
The ancient Greek word for information is πληροφορία, which transliterates (plērophoria)
from πλήρης (plērēs) "fully" and φέρω (phorein) frequentative of (pherein) to carry through. It literally
means "bears fully" or "conveys fully". In modern Greek the word Πληροφορία is still in daily use and
has the same meaning as the word information in English. In addition to its primary meaning, the
word Πληροφορία as a symbol has deep roots in Aristotle's semiotic triangle. In this regard it can be
interpreted to communicate information to the one decoding that specific type of sign. This is
something that occurs frequently with the etymology of many words in ancient and modern Greek
where there is a very strong denotative relationship between the signifier, e.g. the word symbol that
conveys a specific encoded interpretation, and the signified, e.g. a concept whose meaning the
interpreter attempts to decode.
In English, “information” is an uncountable mass noun.