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Information (shortened as info or info.) is that which informs, i.e. an answer to a question, as well as that from which knowledge and data can be derived (as data represents values attributed to parameters, and knowledge signifies understanding of real things or abstract concepts).〔http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/information〕 As it regards data, the information's existence is not necessarily coupled to an observer (it exists beyond an event horizon, for example), while in the case of knowledge, the information requires a cognitive observer. At its most fundamental, information is any propagation of cause and effect within a system. Information is conveyed either as the content of a message or through direct or indirect observation of some thing. 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 sequence of signals). It can also be encrypted for safe storage and communication. Information resolves uncertainty. 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. Example: information in one "fair" coin flip: log2(2/1) = 1 bit, and in two fair coin flips is log2(4/1) = 2 bits. The concept that ''information is the message'' has different meanings in different contexts.〔A short overview is found in: 〕 Thus the concept of information becomes closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, education, knowledge, meaning, understanding, mental stimuli, pattern, perception, representation, and entropy. == Etymology == The English word was apparently derived from the Latin stem (''information-'') of the nominative (''informatio''): this noun is derived 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 "fully bears" or "conveys fully". In modern Greek language the word Πληροφορία is still in daily use and has the same meaning as the word ''information'' in English. Unfortunately biblical scholars have translated (''plērophoria'') into "full assurance" creating a connotative meaning of the word. 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 language 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 interpretant attempts to decode. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「information」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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