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Information Does Not Exist?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the that-explains-a-lot-of-things dept.

Anonymous Junkie writes "Here is a piece of academic research publised in this month's 'Journal of Knowledge Research' claiming that Information Does Not Exist. The abstract is available freely online. The wording is a little too scholarly for me but it looks like a worthwhile read. I wonder what this new revelation holds for librarians and IT folks."

3 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Why not... by TopSpin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...dupe the "French Response to Google is Microsoft" thing? It's indistinguishable from an actual April Fools.... joke.

    o.O

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  2. is it already slashdotted? by Pinefresh · · Score: 2, Interesting

    mirrordot doesn't seem to have it either.

  3. I'd comment, but I can't download the article..... by 1iar_parad0x · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Either information exists or it doesn't.

    Say that we have evidence that information does not exist. Then, it can only be expressed through information.

    However, if there is evidence that information doesn't exist, then the only real explanation is that we lack the proper language to express that information. Thus, with no proper language to adequately express itself, information appears to not exist.

    This reminds me of an anecdote about the famous mathematician G. H. Hardy (it's been credited to others as well):

    Hardy once said that he could prove anything if it given a contradiction to begin with. McTaggart denied the consequence: "if 2+2=5, how can you prove that I am the pope?" Hardy replied: "if 2+2=5, 4=5; subtract 3; then 1=2; but McTaggart and the pope are two; therefore McTaggart and the pope are one."

    In other words, Hardy argued, and most philosophers would agree, given one false idea or inconsistency you can prove anything.

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