Information Architecture	What Is Information?

Raw Information

The building blocks of information

1	0
on	off
true	false
yes	no

Why the word "information"?

George Boole (1815-1864)

1854:

An investigation into the Laws of Thought, on Which are founded the Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities.

Algebraic symbols can be used to represent truth values - "Boolean Algebra"

Claude Shannon (1916-2001)

1938:

A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits
Transactions American Institute of Electrical Engineers 57, 713-723.
(Shannon died recently - 27 February 2001)

What can we do with it?

What can we build out of these basic elements?

Complex information: Text, pictures, diagrams ...