Chapter 6 - Information Content

Abstract

Information content as employed herein has many operational definitions: amount of information conveyed by a unit of language; amount of information in something; and being related to statistical probability. The five senses are the connection of the outside world to the brain, which can result in mixed signals for a multimodal phenomenon. Information content is analyzed in terms of one-dimensional and two-dimensional representations. Shannon entropy is developed in terms of coins and the genetic code. The choice of words and the order of words in a sentence define the "frame" from which a position on a topic is developed. The writings of George Lakoff, Frank Luntz, and Randy Olson are the source of development in this tome. The "interpreter" and "direct" forms of communication of scientists with the general public are compared, where the two types of communications regarding Eddington's 1919 expedition are examined. Several examples are given that could be myths, mistakes, or outright wrong. Two Pew Research Center quizzes on what the public knows about science and technology are presented. Different teaching philosophies are explained, and the "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" characteristics of the Internet are examined.