What is a semantic way to measure information? What is it based on? What are the goals and objectives? We will talk about all this in the framework of this article.
general information
In what cases is the semantic method of measuring information used? The essence of the information is used, the content side of the received message is of interest - here are the indications for its use. But first, let's give an explanation of what it is. It should be noted that the semantic way of measuring information is a difficult formalized approach that has not yet been fully formed. It is used to measure the amount of meaning in the data that was received. In other words, how much of the information received is necessary in this case. This approach is used to determine the content side of the information received. And if we are talking about a semantic way of measuring information, the concept of a thesaurus is used, which is inextricably linked with the topic under consideration. What is it like?
Thesaurus
I would like to make a small introduction and give an answer to one question about the semantic way of measuring information. Who introduced it? The founder of cybernetics, Norbert Wiener, proposed using this method, but it was significantly developed under the influence of our compatriot A. Yu. Schreider. What is a thesaurus? This name is used to indicate the totality of information that the recipient of information has. If we correlate the thesaurus with the content of the message that arrived, we can find out how much it reduced the uncertainty. I want to fix one mistake, which often affects a large number of people. So, they believe that the semantic way of measuring information was introduced by Claude Shannon. It is not known exactly how this misconception arose, but this opinion is incorrect. Claude Shannon introduced a statistical method of measuring information, the "heir" of which is considered semantic.
Graphic approach for determining the amount of semantic information in a received message
Why do you need to draw something? The semantic method of measuring information in computer science uses this opportunity to visually present data on the usefulness of data in the form of easily understood figures. What does this mean in practice? To clarify the state of affairs, a dependence is built in the form of a graph. If the user does not have knowledge about the essence of the message that was received (equal to zero), then the amount of semantic information will be equal to the same value. Is it possible to find the optimal value? Yes! This is the name of the thesaurus, where the amount of semantic information is maximum. Let's look at a small example. Suppose a user receives a message written in an unfamiliar foreign language, or a person can read what is written there, but this is no longer news to him, since all this is known. In such cases, it is said that the message contains zero semantic information.
Historical development
Probably, we should talk about this a little higher, but to catch up is not too late. The semantic way of measuring information was originally introduced by Ralph Hartley in 1928. It was previously mentioned that Claude Shannon is often mentioned as the founder. Why did such confusion arise? The fact is that although the semantic method of measuring information was introduced by Ralph Hartley in 1928, it was Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver who generalized it in 1948. After that, the founder of cybernetics, Norbert Wiener, formed the idea of the thesaurus method, which received the most recognition in the form of a measure developed by Yu. I. Schneider. It should be noted that in order to understand this, a sufficiently high level of knowledge is required.
Performance
What does the thesaurus method give us in practice? It is a real confirmation of the thesis that information has such a property as relativity. It should be noted that it has a relative (or subjective) value. In order to be able to objectively evaluate scientific information, we introduced the concept of a universal thesaurus. Its degree of change also shows the significance of knowledge that mankind receives. However, it is impossible to say exactly which final result (or intermediate) can be obtained from the information. Take computers, for example. Computing technique was created on the basis of lamp technology and the bit state of each structural element and was originally used for calculations. Now almost every person has something that works on the basis of this technology: radio, telephone, computer, TV, laptop. Even modern refrigerators, stoves and washbasins contain a bit of electronics, which is based on information about facilitating the use of these household appliances by a person.
Scientific approach
Where is the semantic way of measuring information studied? Computer science is the science that deals with various aspects of this issue. What is the feature? The method is based on the use of the system "true / false", or the bit system "unit / zero". When certain information arrives, it is divided into separate blocks, which are called like units of speech: words, syllables and the like. Each block receives a specific value. Let's look at a small example. Nearby are two friends. One addresses the second with the words: "Tomorrow is our day off." When the days for rest - everyone knows. Therefore, the value of this information is zero. But if the second says that he works tomorrow, then for the first it will be a surprise. Indeed, in this case, it may turn out that plans that were built by one person will be violated, for example, going to play bowling or delving into the workshop. Each part of the described example can be described with units and zeros.
Operating with concepts
But what else is used besides the thesaurus? What else do you need to know to understand the semantic way of measuring information? The basic concepts that can be further explored are sign systems. They mean means of expressing meaning, such as rules for interpreting signs or their combinations. Let's look at another example from computer science. Computers operate with conditional zeros and ones. In fact, this is a low and high voltage that is applied to the components of the equipment. Moreover, they transmit these units and zeros without end and edge. How to make a distinction between them technique? The answer to this was found - interruptions. When this same information is transmitted, then various blocks are obtained, such as words, phrases and individual meanings. In oral human speech, pauses are also used to break data into separate blocks. They are so inconspicuous that most of them we notice on the "machine." In the letter, dots and commas are used for this purpose.
Features
Let's also touch on the topic of properties that the semantic way of measuring information has. We already know that this is the name of a special approach that evaluates the importance of information. Is it possible to say that the data that will be evaluated in this way will be objective? No, that is not true. Information is subjective. Let's look at a school example. There is an excellent student who goes ahead of the approved program, and the average average student who studies what is presented in the classroom. For the former, most of the information that he will receive at school will be of rather weak interest, since he already knows this and does not hear / read for the first time. Therefore, at the subjective level, this will not be very valuable for him (due to perhaps the individual comments of the teacher, which he noticed during the presentation of his subject). While the average person heard about the new information only remotely, therefore for him the value of the data that will be presented in the lessons is an order of magnitude greater.
Conclusion
It should be noted that in computer science, the semantic method of measuring information is not the only option within which it is possible to solve existing problems. The choice should depend on the goals set and the opportunities present. Therefore, if a topic is of interest or there is a need for it, we can only strongly recommend that you study it in more detail and find out what other methods of measuring information, except semantic, exist.