> I would agree with distinguishing between communication and > information interaction, but I infer exactly the opposite conclusion. > Communication, it seems to me (and also according to the setup that > is the basis for Shannon's approach) requires coding and decoding > modules, but information transmission does not; it requires only a > channel. Information needs to be decoded (given meaning) to be > communication. At least that is what I read off of Shannon's model of > communication theory.
I agree with John, communication theory is a subset of information theory, even if historically the part was articulated before we realized the whole. In working with ecological networks, I have no concern whatsoever with coding and decoding. The calculus of information theory works wonderfully to quantify the degree of constraint vs. residual flexibility. It is a *phenomenological* tool that performs in abstraction of any details about what constitutes the constraints. Possibly coding is involved, usually it is not (unless you still believe in strict reductionism, that is). My two cents. Regards to all! Bob U. _______________________________________________ fis mailing list fis@listas.unizar.es https://webmail.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis
