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Very Short Introductions #225
Information: A Very Short Introduction
We live in a society that is awash with information, but few of us really understand what information is. In this Very Short Introduction, one of the world's leading authorities on the philosophy of information and on information ethics, Luciano Floridi, offers an illuminating exploration of information as it relates to both philosophy and science. He discusses the roots of the concept of information in mathematics and science, and considers the role of information in several fields, including biology. Floridi also discusses concepts such as "Infoglut" (too much information to process) and the emergence of an information society, and he addresses the nature of information as a communication process and its place as a physical phenomenon. Perhaps more important, he explores information's meaning and value, and ends by considering the broader social and ethical issues relating to information, including problems surrounding accessibility, privacy, ownership, copyright, and open source. This book helps us understand the true meaning of the concept and how it can be used to understand our world.
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
130 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
104 people are currently reading
1,456 people want to read
About the author
Luciano Floridi
57books129followersLuciano Floridi is currently Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information at the University of Oxford, Oxford Internet Institute, Governing Body Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford, Senior Member of the Faculty of Philosophy, Research Associate and Fellow in Information Policy at the Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, and Distinguished Research Fellow of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.
Floridi is best known for his work on two areas of philosophical research: the philosophy of information and information ethics.
Between 2008 and 2013, he held the Research Chair in philosophy of information and the UNESCO Chair in Information and Computer Ethics at the University of Hertfordshire. He was the founder and director of the IEG, an interdepartmental research group on the philosophy of information at the University of Oxford, and of the GPI, the research Group in Philosophy of Information at the University of Hertfordshire. He was the founder and director of the SWIF, the Italian e-journal of philosophy (1995�2008).
Floridi is best known for his work on two areas of philosophical research: the philosophy of information and information ethics.
Between 2008 and 2013, he held the Research Chair in philosophy of information and the UNESCO Chair in Information and Computer Ethics at the University of Hertfordshire. He was the founder and director of the IEG, an interdepartmental research group on the philosophy of information at the University of Oxford, and of the GPI, the research Group in Philosophy of Information at the University of Hertfordshire. He was the founder and director of the SWIF, the Italian e-journal of philosophy (1995�2008).
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July 29, 2022
جد متحمسة لقراءة هذا الكتاب ،ولم تخب امالي بذلك حين قرأت المقدمة والفصول الاولى لكنها خابت في الفصول الاخيرة ،اذ اني مع الاسف لم افهم اغلبها،ربما لانها على مستوى من التقنية لايناسب غير المتخصصين ، لكني استفدت من الكتاب بشكل لابأس به لم افهم منه شيئا لأكون صادقة :)
اعتقد ان خطاب اينشتاين هو افضل ما ورد فيه
اعتقد ان خطاب اينشتاين هو افضل ما ورد فيه
يعتبر الإنسان جزءًا من الكل الذي نطلق عليه <الكون< جزءا محدودا من الزمان والمكان. يفكر الإنسان في نفسه، أفكاره ومشاعره، باعتبارها شيئًا منفصلًا عن باقي الأشياء، نوع من الضلالات البصرية لوعيه. تعتبر هذهالضلالة نوعًا من السجن لنا، يحصرنا في رغباتنا الشخصية وفي ودِّنا نحو أشخاص قليلين قريبين منَّا. يجب أن تكون مهمتنا هي تحرير أنفسنا من سجننا من خلال توسيع دائرة تعاطُفنا لتشمل الإنسانية جمعاء والطبيعة
بأسرها بجمالها. ورغم أنه لا يستطيع أحد تحقيق هذا بالكامل، فإن بذل الجهد من أجل تحقيق ذلك في حدِّ ذاته هو جزء من عملية التحرر وأساس للأمن الداخلي.
May 13, 2015
كتاب ممتع جداً ، يتحدث عن المعلومات من عدة زوايا. المعلومات في الحياة ، المعلومات من ناحية رياضية ، فيزيائية ، حيوية واقتصاديه.
هذا الكتاب دعم قراري الذي اتخذته قبل سنتان بترك مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي التي أصبحت كما وصفها الكاتب "استثمار الأشخاص مئات وآلاف الساعات في بناء شخصياتهم وأصولهم
الافتراضية وامتلاكها."
"أننا نشهد هجرة تاريخية غير مسبوقة للبشرية من موِطنها الطبيعي الاعتيادي إلى الَحيز المعلوماتي، وهو الأمر الذي يرجع في الأساس إلى أن العالم الأخير يبتلع العالم الأول في كنفه. بناءً عليه، سيصبح البشر كائنات معلوماتية ضمن كائنات أخرى معلوماتية وكيانات تعمل في بيئة أكثر ألفة للكائنات المعلوماتية. وبمجرد حلول السكان الأصليين الرقميين مثل أطفالنا محلنا،ستصبح عملية الهجرة الإلكترونية عملية أكثر اكتماًلا،وستشعرالأجيال المستقبلية بالمزيد من الحرمان ،والإقصاء،والعجز—أ� حتى الَعَوز—مت� انفصلت عن عالم المعلومات،مثل السمك خارج الماء. "
"الا انها من جهه اخرى ساعدت كثير من الأشخاص في فهم الواقع وفهم أنفسهم أيضا. "
الكتاب ممكن يكون ممل للاشخاص الذين يكرهون المادة العلمية البحته.
هذا الكتاب دعم قراري الذي اتخذته قبل سنتان بترك مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي التي أصبحت كما وصفها الكاتب "استثمار الأشخاص مئات وآلاف الساعات في بناء شخصياتهم وأصولهم
الافتراضية وامتلاكها."
"أننا نشهد هجرة تاريخية غير مسبوقة للبشرية من موِطنها الطبيعي الاعتيادي إلى الَحيز المعلوماتي، وهو الأمر الذي يرجع في الأساس إلى أن العالم الأخير يبتلع العالم الأول في كنفه. بناءً عليه، سيصبح البشر كائنات معلوماتية ضمن كائنات أخرى معلوماتية وكيانات تعمل في بيئة أكثر ألفة للكائنات المعلوماتية. وبمجرد حلول السكان الأصليين الرقميين مثل أطفالنا محلنا،ستصبح عملية الهجرة الإلكترونية عملية أكثر اكتماًلا،وستشعرالأجيال المستقبلية بالمزيد من الحرمان ،والإقصاء،والعجز—أ� حتى الَعَوز—مت� انفصلت عن عالم المعلومات،مثل السمك خارج الماء. "
"الا انها من جهه اخرى ساعدت كثير من الأشخاص في فهم الواقع وفهم أنفسهم أيضا. "
الكتاب ممكن يكون ممل للاشخاص الذين يكرهون المادة العلمية البحته.
January 13, 2011
Luciano Floridi you miserable man you made my Fridays a hell because I had to write an abstract of your book's chapters for school every Friday. But it ends this Friday, my friend. Information Theory classes are over, and so are you. And it's a popular joke around the school now that one of my classmates called your work "emotionally worthwhile." But I guess I have to give you some credit. I like how you write in a way only you understand it and make me feel ignorant.
I did enjoy your book however.
I did enjoy your book however.
June 30, 2013
Very confusing and not at all well written. A concept with potential that fell flat in the execution.
January 18, 2017
A combination of verbose hubris and superficiality make this one of the few VSI books to steer clear of. The surface gloss wears thin when you realise just how far the author is trying to spread his subject. The dicussion of information ethics is a case in point: there is no real detail on use and abuse of personal data, very little on ownership of data but a whole load on restructuring ethics to an ontic outlook taking the deep ecology / environmentalist ethics as a starting point. The resulting ethical program initially looks good but doesn't really bear close scrutiny - much the same could be said of the entire book.
October 3, 2013
In terms of science writing, a genre that typically aims to make scientific information accessible to the public and seems to be the goal of this series, it really fails to deliver. Most of the other authors in the "Very Short Introduction" series manage to capture the essence of their subjects in clear, apt metaphors; Floridi seems to struggle untangling the difficult aspects of information theory for the layperson. Oxford might want to give someone else a shot at this subject.
September 3, 2014
الفائدة التي حصلت عليها من الكتاب اقل مما توقعت
وان كان هذا الكتاب مقدمة قصيرة جدا الا انه ليس بالبساطة المتخيلة
الكتاب دخل في دوائر نظرية جدا وفلسفية احيانا حول المعلومات ومايرتبط بها من قضايا , ومع ان اختصاصي هو معالجة المعلومات الا اني شعرت باكثير من الغموض خلال القراءة
المفيد في الكتاب هو حديثه عن نظرية المعلومات وان كان لم يشرح بالتفصيل ولا باسلوب مبسط عنها
ربما اهم ما في الكتاب هو حديثه عن التحول الاجتماعي في حياة البشر نحو الحيز المعلوماتي وما فرضته وستفرضه المعلومات من تغييرات وان لم يكن باسهاب
مقتطفات من الكتاب
-------------------------
أننا نشهد هجرة تاريخية غير مسبوقة للبشرية من موطِنها الطبيعي الاعتيادي إلى الحَيِّز
المعلوماتي، وهو الأمر الذي يرجع في الأساس إلى أن العالم الأخير يبتلع العالم الأول في
كنفه. بناءً عليه، سيصبح البشركائنات معلوماتية ضمن كائنات أخرى معلوماتية (ربما
تكون اصطناعية) وكيانات تعمل في بيئة أكثر ألفة للكائنات المعلوماتية. وبمجرد حلول
السكان الأصليين الرقميين مثل أطفالنا محلَّنا، ستصبح عملية الهجرة الإلكترونية عملية
أكثر اكتمالًا، وستشعر الأجيال المستقبلية بالمزيد من الحرمان، والإقصاء، والعجز � أو
حتى العَوَز � متى انفصلت عن عالم المعلومات، مثل السمك خارج الماء.
وان كان هذا الكتاب مقدمة قصيرة جدا الا انه ليس بالبساطة المتخيلة
الكتاب دخل في دوائر نظرية جدا وفلسفية احيانا حول المعلومات ومايرتبط بها من قضايا , ومع ان اختصاصي هو معالجة المعلومات الا اني شعرت باكثير من الغموض خلال القراءة
المفيد في الكتاب هو حديثه عن نظرية المعلومات وان كان لم يشرح بالتفصيل ولا باسلوب مبسط عنها
ربما اهم ما في الكتاب هو حديثه عن التحول الاجتماعي في حياة البشر نحو الحيز المعلوماتي وما فرضته وستفرضه المعلومات من تغييرات وان لم يكن باسهاب
مقتطفات من الكتاب
-------------------------
أننا نشهد هجرة تاريخية غير مسبوقة للبشرية من موطِنها الطبيعي الاعتيادي إلى الحَيِّز
المعلوماتي، وهو الأمر الذي يرجع في الأساس إلى أن العالم الأخير يبتلع العالم الأول في
كنفه. بناءً عليه، سيصبح البشركائنات معلوماتية ضمن كائنات أخرى معلوماتية (ربما
تكون اصطناعية) وكيانات تعمل في بيئة أكثر ألفة للكائنات المعلوماتية. وبمجرد حلول
السكان الأصليين الرقميين مثل أطفالنا محلَّنا، ستصبح عملية الهجرة الإلكترونية عملية
أكثر اكتمالًا، وستشعر الأجيال المستقبلية بالمزيد من الحرمان، والإقصاء، والعجز � أو
حتى العَوَز � متى انفصلت عن عالم المعلومات، مثل السمك خارج الماء.
January 3, 2013
Floridi's writing is so packed with parentheticals and non-specific examples that the actual information contained in the book is, ironically, incredibly hard to get to. As a writer he completely fails to grasp the art of conveying information despite his claims to expertise on the subject.
That said it did clarify information theory a bit for me and gave me a lot to think about. I'll be following it up with several other books on the topic. So as an introduction it was a definite success.
That said it did clarify information theory a bit for me and gave me a lot to think about. I'll be following it up with several other books on the topic. So as an introduction it was a definite success.
April 28, 2013
Clear, swift overview of different definitions of information, and different methods of evaluating and interpreting information. Part of the "Very Short Introduction" series of books, and you indeed get a good intro to mathematical, semantic, physical, biological and economic views and uses of information.
While most of the book is a summary of others' work, at the end Floridi does contribute his own concept of "information ethics", in which the entire "infosphere" is viewed as an ecology that subsumes all information and information-processors, including humans (called "inforgs"), within it. Floridi proposes that every existent "being" (biological or pure information, physical or not) in the infosphere starts of with a minimal, but potentially overridable, moral right to exist (ie attaching moral value to information's existence the way we attach moral value to organism's existence).
It's interesting, but Floridi's characterization of "biocentric" ethics that he sees his own as an improvement on seems off -- I think ecological ethics usually places more emphasis on the aggregate health of entire species/ecologies, instead of focusing on avoiding suffering for individual organisms, as Floridi states -- eg, along the food chain the suffering of prey at predator's hands/claws/teeth is of course accepted, as long as it does not lead to extinction/environmental collapse. And there's not even a start of a suggestion as to how to navigate conflicting interpretations of what's most healthy for the infosphere ecology (eg, which "being"'s minimal rights to existence get overriden, ie what information can be thrown away). But it did make me think of the herculean efforts of, for example, Jason Scott with his and projects to save huge reams of digital data that was otherwise slated for oblivion.
Also, the Kindle version introduces its own noise to the book's own information -- when an example is give ("Imagine this is 'a', and the other is 'b'...", "b" is sometimes rendered as "6", and end ")" are often rendered as "}". These fortunately are not widespread enough to ruin the book, but are amusing given the subject matter, and someone should do a statistical analysis of the amount of Kindle noise introduced into Floridi's signal, stat.
While most of the book is a summary of others' work, at the end Floridi does contribute his own concept of "information ethics", in which the entire "infosphere" is viewed as an ecology that subsumes all information and information-processors, including humans (called "inforgs"), within it. Floridi proposes that every existent "being" (biological or pure information, physical or not) in the infosphere starts of with a minimal, but potentially overridable, moral right to exist (ie attaching moral value to information's existence the way we attach moral value to organism's existence).
It's interesting, but Floridi's characterization of "biocentric" ethics that he sees his own as an improvement on seems off -- I think ecological ethics usually places more emphasis on the aggregate health of entire species/ecologies, instead of focusing on avoiding suffering for individual organisms, as Floridi states -- eg, along the food chain the suffering of prey at predator's hands/claws/teeth is of course accepted, as long as it does not lead to extinction/environmental collapse. And there's not even a start of a suggestion as to how to navigate conflicting interpretations of what's most healthy for the infosphere ecology (eg, which "being"'s minimal rights to existence get overriden, ie what information can be thrown away). But it did make me think of the herculean efforts of, for example, Jason Scott with his and projects to save huge reams of digital data that was otherwise slated for oblivion.
Also, the Kindle version introduces its own noise to the book's own information -- when an example is give ("Imagine this is 'a', and the other is 'b'...", "b" is sometimes rendered as "6", and end ")" are often rendered as "}". These fortunately are not widespread enough to ruin the book, but are amusing given the subject matter, and someone should do a statistical analysis of the amount of Kindle noise introduced into Floridi's signal, stat.
October 15, 2022
This book blew my mind! Information is everywhere, and is, to some minds, everything. Once you look under the hood of the concept of information you find yourself touching all the sciences: math, physics, thermodynamics, psychology, cybernetics, logic and also pondering the spiritual: morality, the way everything is connected, and God. One stumbles across astonishing ideas, for example: information obeys the laws of thermodynamics - that is to say information increases the entropy of the universe, information creates heat - another example: we have a moral connection and obligation to every bit of matter in the universe, past present and future. Other fascinating issues crop up, such as: are we living in a simulation upon some extra-universal computer? And my favorite, particles are actually just information. Then, there are some paradoxes that will make spinal fluid leak out of your ears - you have been warned.
November 5, 2020
This book made me understand about a whole new (giant) iceberg that is information and made me realize I'm an Inforg, in my habitat � the infosphere.
May 20, 2022
Good book, but not a great VSI (some background knowledge required)
January 4, 2021
Really pathetic attempt at writing a book, if I'm allowed to be completely honest. Failed to retain my attention every damn time I picked it up.
February 24, 2024
I think if I rate this book 1 star, no one gets hurt. Enough people read it and value it 5 starts so the voice is not going to ruin anything for anyone.
The author opens the book with:
"My hope is that it will help the reader to make sense of the large
variety of informational phenomena with we deal on a
daily basis, of their profound and fundamental importance,
and hence of the information society in which we live".
I'm afraid the author didn't succeed. Paraphrasing an example from the book itself, it describes the Information as "a Newtonian description of the physical laws describe the dynamics of a tennis game", as opposed to "the description of the same game as a Wimbledon final by a commentator".
The author drags the reader through information taxonomy, the mathematical theory of communication, Shannon's information theory, then through more taxonomy, quantum information, DNA and neurons, game theory and Bayesian probabilities, and finally ethics of information with a bit of greenwashing at the very end.
Ethics of information which is, as I understand it, an invention of the author, so this book isn't the into the information this is an "into the info and my glorious theory of information ethics".
I did not sign up for it, I do not get it, and I can not recommend it. And despite the author's hope for the book to be useful for the "information society in which we live" - it isn't. At least not for me, the average person curious about things. I did not get its utility.
The book has interesting references and ideas, I picked up a few. I want to know more about Shannon's information theory, the scandal of deduction, inverse relationship principle, but there are should be better ways to learn about those things. All those concepts appear in Chapter 4 on Semantic Information. If you need to read something from this book - read chapter 4.
If you are looking for the summary/taxonomy, into the author's ideas about information ethics, and enjoy dense unedited academic language - knock yourself out. Otherwise, look elsewhere.
The author opens the book with:
"My hope is that it will help the reader to make sense of the large
variety of informational phenomena with we deal on a
daily basis, of their profound and fundamental importance,
and hence of the information society in which we live".
I'm afraid the author didn't succeed. Paraphrasing an example from the book itself, it describes the Information as "a Newtonian description of the physical laws describe the dynamics of a tennis game", as opposed to "the description of the same game as a Wimbledon final by a commentator".
The author drags the reader through information taxonomy, the mathematical theory of communication, Shannon's information theory, then through more taxonomy, quantum information, DNA and neurons, game theory and Bayesian probabilities, and finally ethics of information with a bit of greenwashing at the very end.
Ethics of information which is, as I understand it, an invention of the author, so this book isn't the into the information this is an "into the info and my glorious theory of information ethics".
I did not sign up for it, I do not get it, and I can not recommend it. And despite the author's hope for the book to be useful for the "information society in which we live" - it isn't. At least not for me, the average person curious about things. I did not get its utility.
The book has interesting references and ideas, I picked up a few. I want to know more about Shannon's information theory, the scandal of deduction, inverse relationship principle, but there are should be better ways to learn about those things. All those concepts appear in Chapter 4 on Semantic Information. If you need to read something from this book - read chapter 4.
If you are looking for the summary/taxonomy, into the author's ideas about information ethics, and enjoy dense unedited academic language - knock yourself out. Otherwise, look elsewhere.
June 12, 2013
The book I read to research this post was Information A Very Short Introduction by Luciano Floridi which is a very good book which I bought from kindle. This book is just an introduction to the topic of information storage and is selective in what it covers. In keeping with this series of books the book has to be around 150 pages. In the coming years the amount of information stored is set to grow exponentially. At the moment people are quite distrustful of information that is stored about but as better methods of storage come into play and people see more benefits that may gradually change. A new idea is the Quantum Computer which will be a computer that will be able to do things we can barely dream about. One problem in developing this is that some of the components are very fragile, but as time goes on that will change. Another idea is having computers that will be hard wired to do certain things. These computers wouldn't need programs to be written for them. Finally something that is in its infancy is online games and this is likely to get more popular. Also virtual goods are likely to become more identified with online games and websites. It's interesting that you used to be able to buy virtual items like avatars on Ebay but they stopped it.
August 29, 2021
I will forgive the book as it is "a very short introduction," but I would say that every chapter gives enough information to make the reader interested, not in the contents of the chapter itself as it is quite lacking, but more of the deeper discourses that one can pursue. The introduction provides mostly common-sensical information for those delving in the humanities, but for what it is, it's a great gateway into Floridi's denser texts. I would greatly recommend it for those who do not expect a profound exposition on information theory, and more of a general overview of the inquiries occuring within that field.
Simply a must.
Simply a must.
March 16, 2015
A very concise introduction to information theory and philosophy of information. Floridi does a wonderful job of picking apart the various ways the term "information" can be used. The last chapter is particularly philosophical in its implications for value theory, although it feels a tiny bit preachy (nevertheless, it is a valuable exercise, even if it does presuppose some familiarity with environmental ethics). Altogether a great read, especially considering that most of the chapters are conceptually independent enough to serve as a quick reference guide for big ideas.
January 31, 2021
A great introduction, but with too many typos (Kindle edition)
This is a wonderful introduction to all the aspects of information. The material is always clearly explained with minimal use of acronyms and too many references to prerequisite knowledge. Well done!
The main issue is the big amount of typos, especially in mathematical formulas (e.g. exponents) in the Kindle version. It feels like the ebook was scanned from printed paper... A revision and reissue are necessary.
This is a wonderful introduction to all the aspects of information. The material is always clearly explained with minimal use of acronyms and too many references to prerequisite knowledge. Well done!
The main issue is the big amount of typos, especially in mathematical formulas (e.g. exponents) in the Kindle version. It feels like the ebook was scanned from printed paper... A revision and reissue are necessary.
August 21, 2013
A short and incredibly useful book about the different notions of information. One of those books that is a toolbox for thinking.
February 3, 2016
This book finally explained why the word 'information' has different meanings, none of which are very clear. I wish I had read this book years ago.
June 3, 2015
مليئه جدا بالمعلومات حتى انني لم استطع مجاراتها
ربما سأعاود لقراءتها مره اخرى
ربما سأعاود لقراءتها مره اخرى
April 4, 2017
As it turns out, too short. The language in laces is just too dense to get a proper sense ofwhat s being said, and much more explanation and examples would have helped.
December 14, 2019
Perfect travel companion (approx. 11*17,5 cm) and with a wealth of "information" about Information. Philosopher and professor of philosophy and Ethics at Oxford Luciano Floridi is like a fish in water providing vast insights considering the "very short introduction" subtitle. Providing perspectives on "Information" ranging "the revolution of; the language of; mathematical; Semantic; Physical; Biological; Economic, and the Ethics of information" all within under 130 pages (small). He also manages to introduce a number of concepts and conceptual views on information e.g. the state of humans as "inforgs" living in the "infosphere.
This is a great and (fairly) easy read and digestible introduction to thoughts on what information is and can be as well as a fair taste of what you can expect if you dive into or upload yourself into the philosophy Luciano Floridi philosophy. The 4th revolution would be a fine choice as a follow-up read moving further into ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) � especially if you’re new to philosophy.
“But what is information?� “The concept is a profound one, rooted in mathematics, yet vital to our everyday lives: DNA provides information to create us; we learn through information fed to us; we relate to each other through information transfer � gossip, lectures, reading.� Which makes a good characteristic of the breadth and depth this small introduction manages to provide. Floridi ends his introduction “The whole purpose is to put the family of concepts of information firmly on the map and thus make possible further adjustment and re-orientations.�. Hence, also an encouragement to readers to contemplate the concepts naturally for themselves, but also to throw these thoughts in to the “infosphere� for others to contemplate, adjust and re-orientate them.
It is a practical guide factually and an inspirational guide that will spark your thoughts about what information actually is and what it potentially could be � all exhibited in an array of different approaches, angles and relations.
One of my favourite part of Floridi DNA is his excellent ability to balance the complex and efforts to simplify � I think a quote from 4th Revolution stresses this very well:
“Complex phenomena can be simplified conceptually, but there is a threshold beyond which the simplification becomes an unreliable and therefore useless distortion.� (p.vii).
If you want to challenge yourself even more then I recommend looking towards Luciano Floridi trilogy on Information: “The philosophy of Information (2011)�; “The Ethics of Information (2013), and “The logic of Information (2019). I personally guarantee you’re in for a mental ride of some significance.
This is a great and (fairly) easy read and digestible introduction to thoughts on what information is and can be as well as a fair taste of what you can expect if you dive into or upload yourself into the philosophy Luciano Floridi philosophy. The 4th revolution would be a fine choice as a follow-up read moving further into ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) � especially if you’re new to philosophy.
“But what is information?� “The concept is a profound one, rooted in mathematics, yet vital to our everyday lives: DNA provides information to create us; we learn through information fed to us; we relate to each other through information transfer � gossip, lectures, reading.� Which makes a good characteristic of the breadth and depth this small introduction manages to provide. Floridi ends his introduction “The whole purpose is to put the family of concepts of information firmly on the map and thus make possible further adjustment and re-orientations.�. Hence, also an encouragement to readers to contemplate the concepts naturally for themselves, but also to throw these thoughts in to the “infosphere� for others to contemplate, adjust and re-orientate them.
It is a practical guide factually and an inspirational guide that will spark your thoughts about what information actually is and what it potentially could be � all exhibited in an array of different approaches, angles and relations.
One of my favourite part of Floridi DNA is his excellent ability to balance the complex and efforts to simplify � I think a quote from 4th Revolution stresses this very well:
“Complex phenomena can be simplified conceptually, but there is a threshold beyond which the simplification becomes an unreliable and therefore useless distortion.� (p.vii).
If you want to challenge yourself even more then I recommend looking towards Luciano Floridi trilogy on Information: “The philosophy of Information (2011)�; “The Ethics of Information (2013), and “The logic of Information (2019). I personally guarantee you’re in for a mental ride of some significance.
March 23, 2024
More accurately, a very short introduction to Floridi. That's fine for me because that's how I read it, and that's where the more interesting aspects come in; for one, there is an abridgement of of semantic information (well formed, meaningful, truthful data), which is meant to apply to problems in epistemology and interestingly is a bit of a Carnap rescue attempt. That isn't explored in depth here, and it probably won't mean much to someone wandering in. What may be interesting is his exposition of the infosphere, which he terms , and how that subsequently informs his approach to as a holistic ecological enterprise rather than one focusing on this or that stage of the information cycle. I've covered three chapters and linked three corresponding works by Floridi, so you see why I say this is an intro to Floridi. That's not a bad thing, I think Floridi has interesting things to say on information. And of value to anyone I think is his tremendously lucid and accessible explanation of Shannon information, which is the mathematical theory approaching the quantitative measure of information, and like many popular mathematical theories tends to relayed to the public sphere in metaphorical and often invalid senses.
April 23, 2023
I read the book with the intention to get a quick overview of Floridi’s philosophy of information. In that sense, I am satisfied with the content, but I’m sure the book doesn’t serve as a widely-acceptable form of “Introduction to Information�; although the chapters nicely covered most of the important histories and theories of information in the limited number of pages, from Shannon’s entropy to quantum computing to neural networks to game theory, the coverage is actually too much, resulting in very poor, indigestible descriptions of diverse topics surfacing no clear underlying story. Knowing the author’s past contributions, I have a strong sense that Chapters 1 & 8 were written most passionately, and others were…meh. It might be clearer if the book was titled “Foundations of Philosophy of Information� and had stronger connections among chapters under the specific theme.
NOTE: A Kindle version had a lot of styling issues e.g., too small image size, too large caption font, broken mathematical symbols, mismatched parentheses/quotes, missing whitespaces.
NOTE: A Kindle version had a lot of styling issues e.g., too small image size, too large caption font, broken mathematical symbols, mismatched parentheses/quotes, missing whitespaces.
October 23, 2017
Cosa sono i dati, cos'è un'informazione. Quali sono le caratteristiche degli oggetti e soggetti che generano informazione?
Un saggio questo di Floridi molto preciso nelle definizioni dei segnali che pervadono l'infosfera, definita come l'ambiente della quarta rivoluzione, perché mai come ora il pianeta è stato pervaso dall'informazione.
Ogni categoria informativa è analizzata in profondità utilizzando metafore utili alla comprensione.
La consapevolezza del cambiamento ci impone di rivedere il nostro approccio e di attivare uno sforzo affinché gli ambienti fisico e tecnologico siano in grado di procedere integrandosi e non scontrandosi.
Una sola lettura non basta, specialmente se si è addetti ai lavori, ma lo consiglio anche a chi vuole avere una panoramica globale, ma precisa, del cambiamento in atto.
Un saggio questo di Floridi molto preciso nelle definizioni dei segnali che pervadono l'infosfera, definita come l'ambiente della quarta rivoluzione, perché mai come ora il pianeta è stato pervaso dall'informazione.
Ogni categoria informativa è analizzata in profondità utilizzando metafore utili alla comprensione.
La consapevolezza del cambiamento ci impone di rivedere il nostro approccio e di attivare uno sforzo affinché gli ambienti fisico e tecnologico siano in grado di procedere integrandosi e non scontrandosi.
Una sola lettura non basta, specialmente se si è addetti ai lavori, ma lo consiglio anche a chi vuole avere una panoramica globale, ma precisa, del cambiamento in atto.
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September 15, 2020Essential reading for my upcoming MSc, and so not something I can rate. But I read it, and so it shall be posted! While there was a lot in here to learn from, perhaps one of the most generally intelligible and accessible points was, "Once digital immigrants like us are replaced by digital natives like our children, the e-migration will become complete and future generations will increasingly feel deprived, excluded, handicapped, or poor whenever they are disconnected from the infosphere, like fish out of water." Idk about you but the idea (or maybe more accurately, probability) that through generations humans will gradually become more adapted to digital technologies, and considering the rate of development of such technologies, and the increase of the 'average' person's interaction with them, this really could not be very far down the line (i.e. our children), gave me shivers.
July 27, 2021
المعلومات .
لوتشانو فلوريدي .
133 صفحة .
يقدم لوتشانو فلوريدي مؤسس مجال فلسفة المعلومات مقدمة " سفاحة " تتحدث عن ثورة المعلومات وماهيتها .
فما هي المعلومات : انها مصطلح واسع يستخدم لعدة معاني حسب سياق الحديث فنحن نتعلم من المعلومات التي تتوارد لاذهاننا ونتناقلها بطرق عديدة كالنقاش والقراءة كما نفعل حاليًا وغيرها الكثير .
أما عن أماكن الحصول على المعلومات فهي كثيرة: كالتلفاز والراديو والكتب والانترنت ، فنحن نمر باليوم الواحد بكل تلك الطرق للحصول على المعلومة حتى أننا يجب أن نقول أننا بدأنا نعاني بشكلٍ كبير من اشباع في بعضها ، لنفترض أن امامك ثلاث أصناف من الوجبات : البرغر والشاورما والفاهيتا .. فأنت ستتناولها كلها بالرغم من أنك تشبع من واحدة وهكذا الأمر بالحصول على المعلومات فتلقيها من كل صوب أمر بديهي .
كلما توغلت بالسياقات أدركت عظمة الكتب المختارة وجديتها فخورة اني مكتبجية .
#ناديمكتبجيالثقافي
#مكتبجي
لوتشانو فلوريدي .
133 صفحة .
يقدم لوتشانو فلوريدي مؤسس مجال فلسفة المعلومات مقدمة " سفاحة " تتحدث عن ثورة المعلومات وماهيتها .
فما هي المعلومات : انها مصطلح واسع يستخدم لعدة معاني حسب سياق الحديث فنحن نتعلم من المعلومات التي تتوارد لاذهاننا ونتناقلها بطرق عديدة كالنقاش والقراءة كما نفعل حاليًا وغيرها الكثير .
أما عن أماكن الحصول على المعلومات فهي كثيرة: كالتلفاز والراديو والكتب والانترنت ، فنحن نمر باليوم الواحد بكل تلك الطرق للحصول على المعلومة حتى أننا يجب أن نقول أننا بدأنا نعاني بشكلٍ كبير من اشباع في بعضها ، لنفترض أن امامك ثلاث أصناف من الوجبات : البرغر والشاورما والفاهيتا .. فأنت ستتناولها كلها بالرغم من أنك تشبع من واحدة وهكذا الأمر بالحصول على المعلومات فتلقيها من كل صوب أمر بديهي .
كلما توغلت بالسياقات أدركت عظمة الكتب المختارة وجديتها فخورة اني مكتبجية .
#ناديمكتبجيالثقافي
#مكتبجي
April 20, 2023
الكتاب يتحدث عن موضوع مهم جدا في الحياة، و لعله الاهم، انه المعلومات و التي ترتبط بكل شيء في هذا و الوجود و هذه الحياة.
الكتاب صعب نسبيا من حيث المحتوى فهو معقد نوعا ما رغم الامثلة الساذجة و المجهود الذي بدله المؤلف في الشرح و التبسيط، أرى ان سبب التعقيد و الصعوبة راجع لسببين؛ المؤلف الذي لم يستطع تنظيم طرحه و تبسيطه بشكل كافي، و طبيعة الموضوع المتشعبة بشكل مشتت، فالمعلومات ترتبط بكل العلوم من كيمياء و فيزياء و فيزياء نظرية و بيولوجية و حتى علوم العصر الحوسبة و المعلوماتية و big data و كذلك الفلسفة و التاريخ و كل ما تشتهي نفسك. ببساطة العالم قائم على المعلومات و بالتالي اضطر المؤلف الى الحديث عن كل ما سبق و مر مرور الكرام عليها - بسبب حجم الكتاب الصغير جدا- و ايضا طرح للنظريات التي تفسر علاقة المعلومات.
الكتاب يحتاج قراءة متصلة و تدقيق و ورقة و قلم و مجهود جاد من أجل الفهم و الاستفادة، انه ليس للمتعة و الاطلاع فقط
الكتاب صعب نسبيا من حيث المحتوى فهو معقد نوعا ما رغم الامثلة الساذجة و المجهود الذي بدله المؤلف في الشرح و التبسيط، أرى ان سبب التعقيد و الصعوبة راجع لسببين؛ المؤلف الذي لم يستطع تنظيم طرحه و تبسيطه بشكل كافي، و طبيعة الموضوع المتشعبة بشكل مشتت، فالمعلومات ترتبط بكل العلوم من كيمياء و فيزياء و فيزياء نظرية و بيولوجية و حتى علوم العصر الحوسبة و المعلوماتية و big data و كذلك الفلسفة و التاريخ و كل ما تشتهي نفسك. ببساطة العالم قائم على المعلومات و بالتالي اضطر المؤلف الى الحديث عن كل ما سبق و مر مرور الكرام عليها - بسبب حجم الكتاب الصغير جدا- و ايضا طرح للنظريات التي تفسر علاقة المعلومات.
الكتاب يحتاج قراءة متصلة و تدقيق و ورقة و قلم و مجهود جاد من أجل الفهم و الاستفادة، انه ليس للمتعة و الاطلاع فقط
February 15, 2021
Finished it without fully grasping 1/5 of the book at the very least! So, I put off the review to when I give the book another try.
I should add that if one interprets the "introduction" in the title as something layed out in bits easily digestible, that's not the case for this book.
Nevertheless, I'd still recommend this challenging book as it deals with some really important stuff-what motivates me to go back to it for the second time- until I know a book that deals with the same material in a more approachable way.
I should add that if one interprets the "introduction" in the title as something layed out in bits easily digestible, that's not the case for this book.
Nevertheless, I'd still recommend this challenging book as it deals with some really important stuff-what motivates me to go back to it for the second time- until I know a book that deals with the same material in a more approachable way.
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