Dear FIS Colleagues, We have two simple questions with simple answers.
The first was mine: What is “Agent”? The second is from Jeremy Sherman: "Can members remember a time when they experienced a fundamental shift in their assumptions, methodology or questions through interactions on this list?" The answer to Jeremy is simple - I think, nobody can! It is practically impossible to fix such moments. Such shift is result from complex and longtime work. But in the same time, especially for me, many small remarks I have done in the list helped me to improve my theory. I am very thankful to all colleagues for this support! To have friendly auditory where one may approbate his/her ideas is GREAT CHANCE!!! I am happy to be part of FIS! The question about concept “agent” was aimed to point that it is not good for using in concrete information theory without special shortening of its meaning. Let see, for instance, The Merriam-Webster Dictionary ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agent, (© 2017 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated): Definition of AGENT (First Known Use: 15th century): 1: one that acts or exerts power 2 a): something that produces or is capable of producing an effect :an active or efficient cause • Education proved to be an agent of change in the community. b): a chemically, physically, or biologically active principle • an oxidizing agent 3: a means or instrument by which a guiding intelligence achieves a result 4: one who is authorized to act for or in the place of another: such as a): a representative, emissary, or official of a government • crown agent • federal agent b): one engaged in undercover activities (such as espionage) :SPY • a secret agent c): a business representative (as of an athlete or entertainer) • a theatrical agent 5: a computer application designed to automate certain tasks (such as gathering information online) I prefer to use more abstract concepts “Entity”, “Object”, and “Subject”. Friendly greetings Krassimir _______________________________________________ Fis mailing list Fis@listas.unizar.es http://listas.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis
