Meaning of News
The information conveyed in announcements holds meaning for the receiver. Meaning is a semiotic concept, and the meaning of informational primitives is connected to relations.
- What does the received information represent or signify?
- To what knowledge or experiences is it connected?
In theory, semantic decoding requires prior knowledge of the entire set of possible outcomes, the full set of information (similar to how we can't understand a language if we don't know its words!). However, this is often not fully achievable. The resolution of the semantic paradox relates to the accumulation of knowledge and the learning process.
Understanding News
Understanding involves placing the received information within the context of one's existing experiences.
The meaning of information is entirely independent of its quantitative and syntactic properties. Technical communication, as an activity, is not meaning-oriented. The cost of transmitting and storing information is independent of its meaning. The semantic properties of information are related to the experiences of an intelligent receiver.
Semantic Paradoxes
- Without meaning, it is questionable whether information exists at all. (Wiener)
- An intelligent receiver is capable of attributing meaning to any code. (Neumann)
This explanation highlights the relationship between information, meaning, and understanding, emphasizing how meaning emerges in communication, even in technical contexts.