Lesson 1. The Notion of Information
The notion of information is used in mathematics, computer science, psychology, biology and some other subject categories. However, the concept of information is different in different contexts. Until mid-twentieth century information was interpreted as data transmitted by people verbally, in writing or in any other way. For example, S. I. Ozhegov Dictionary of the Russian Language gives the following interpretation: “Information is knowledge about the world around and the processes in it; messages about the situation and state of anything” [4].
Further on, information was treated as exchange of data between subjects and objects, a man and a man, a man and computer, computer and computer. Today exchange of signals in flora and fauna, transmission of genetic information on the cellular level is also view as information [1-3]. The Federal Law of June 27, 2006 № 149-FZ "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection" specifies the following concept: “Information is evidence (messages, data) regardless of form of their presentation”.
THUS, IT CAN BE INFERRED THAT INFORMATION is data of something encoded in various forms and conveying certain sense (idea, message). Objects of living and inanimate nature (natural) as well as man-made ones (artificial) can be used as information sources.
In the following Lessons we will treat this notion in the context of information search, i.e. the required information is contained in books, databases and in the Web.
1. Belonogov G. G. Eshche raz o gnoseologicheskom statuse ponyatiya «informatsiYA» / G. G. Belonogov, R. S. Gilyarevskii // Nauchno-tekhnicheskaya informatsiya. Seriya 2, Informatsionnye protsessy i sistemy. – 2010. – № 2. – P. 1–6.
2. Gilyarevskii R. S. Informatika kak nauka ob informatsii / R. S. Gilyarevskii // Sistemy i sredstva informatiki. – 2006. – Spetsvypusk: Nauchno-metodologicheskie problemy informatiki. – P. 59–87. – URL: http://www.mathnet.ru/php/archive.phtml?wshow=paper&jrnid=ssi&paperid=51&option_lang=rus (accessed: 27.08.2019).
3. Gilyarevskii R. S. O znacheniyakh termina «informatsiYA» / R. S. Gilyarevskii // Vestnik Chelyabinskoi gosudarstvennoi akademii kul'tury i iskusstv. – 2007. – № 2 (12). – P. 5–11. – Access mode: for authorized users. – URL: https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=11516150 (accessed: 27.08.2019).
4. Tolkovyi slovar' russkogo yazyka. T. 1. A – Kyuriny / sost. G. O. Vinokur, B. A. Larin, S. I. Ozhegov [i dr.] ; pod red. D. N. Ushakova. – Moscow : Sovetskaya ehntsiklopediya Publ., 1935. – LXXI, 1562 p.