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Data, Information and Knowledge

Data, Information and Knowledge. Three central concepts within informatics. My background. 13 years at Lund university 10 years at Copenhagen Business School 6 years at Växjö university Ideal: Maxium user influence Strong philosophical interest Certain tendencies to provoke.

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Data, Information and Knowledge

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  1. Data, Information and Knowledge Three central concepts within informatics

  2. My background • 13 years at Lund university • 10 years at Copenhagen Business School • 6 years at Växjö university • Ideal: Maxium user influence • Strong philosophical interest • Certain tendencies to provoke

  3. Contact information • Tel: +46 470-708925 (work) • +46 46-211 01 26 (home) • per.flensburg@msi.vxu.se (best!) • http://www.msi.vxu.se/~per/ (homepage) • OBS: No cellular phåne! • This presentation can be found on my homepage (http://www.msi.vxu.se/~per) : pkt 19 ”Presentations”

  4. Data • Data is symbols without meaning for instance , knbx, #€5, ±|6 S, 31, fokularin, Härlanda, november, prison

  5. Information • If we put data into a syntax, a structure, we get information • Ex: “The 31st November 2001 there was 42 focularines inprisoned in the prison of Härlanda. • The same data can be put into different structures. There is a one-many relation between data and information.

  6. Exempel

  7. Knowledge • Information put into a context can be interpreted to knowledge by a human being • The same information can be put into different contexts and interpreted different • The same information in the same context can be interpreted different by different people.

  8. Example (DN) In a big newspaper we find Tabell 2. Status of prisons 31/11 2001

  9. Exemple (Anticimex journal) In a journal from a rat extinktion company we find: Tabell 2. Status of prisons 31/11 2001 This syntax is the same as in the previous picture

  10. Interpretation vs knowledge • In the two examples the information is interpreted different even if both structure and data is the same. • But since we don’t what “focularines” are we get no knowledge. • But we get some sort what-ever-it-is, at least more than the pure data.

  11. But what is a ”focularine”? • It is a member of a catholic secular monastery, which should spread the knowledge about God through their own example. • They are very kind, unharmful and holy • There are about 50 in the whole Scandinavia

  12. Knowledge • The sentence ” ”The 31st November 2001 there was 42 focularines in the prison of Härlanda.” kan thus give the following knowledge: • Fakticity, the fact that it is so in reality. • Maybe they had a meeting in the prison. • Maybe it is illegal to be focularine • Maybe the focularines suddenly have become militant

  13. A more possible interpretation It is not correct! There was not 42 focularines in the prison of Härlanda the 31st November 2001. Besides November has only 30 days.

  14. The lesson from this? • Knowledge is the important thing. Data Information Knowledge Information Knowledge Knowledge Knowledge

  15. In other words • The same information is interpreted different by different people • It is also interpreted different by the same human being due to the context. • Data thus always means different things

  16. Summary so far Context Syntax D A T A Information Knowledge

  17. What’s this? It is a drawing of a table. Most people think it is a table, but that is wrong. Tables are not in this way. Can you define ”table”? Let us agree upon the following: A table is a square surface with four legs.

  18. So, what is this? Three types of answers: Students: They say nothing. They don’t know what it is! IT-experts: It is a table! Ordinary people: It is a chair! Conclusion: Students and IT-experts have a queer apprenhesion of reality!

  19. This is a table

  20. This is no table!

  21. Neither is this!

  22. And definitively not this!

  23. Can this be a table?

  24. If so, this is also a table!

  25. Does this man sits at a table?

  26. Table?

  27. Two surfaces! No table!

  28. If so, this is a table!

  29. What do we learn from this? • Everybody know what a table is • Everybody recognise a table and can distinguish it from other phenomenons such as chairs, book-shelfs, working benches, pianos and schrewdrivers. • But we can’t define it! Our knowledge is tacit!

  30. Different types of tacit knowledge • Ostentative knowledge • Skill, for instance of a carpenter • Judgements, for instance reports, thesis, wine • Specific working place knowledge • Cultural knowledge, for instance in other countries • Language games

  31. Relevance for systems design • The systems designer must be well aquainted with tacit knowledge, since design of system is uttermost a development of a language game (i.e. Welanschauung) for other persons. • Only those working within the system domain (i.e. those who are going to use the system) fully understand what it all is about.

  32. Highest relevance • The conclusion is thus: Only the users can design and develop correct systems = corresponding to reality • Unfortunately they are often not true = logically coherent • But despite that, it is always right (= morally right) to allow them to do that.

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