Abstract Information and Concrete Information in the World of Signs

Abstract

In the world of signs surrounding us, there are two sorts of information which look contradictory with one another, (1) abstract information as "negentropy" being the measure of order by Wiener's formulation, and (2) concrete information as "entropy" being the measure of disorder by Shannon's formulation. The former, possessed by the logical composition of virtual message, informs about another one and the later, generated in the actual performance of this composition by coded signals, informs about oneself. But properly the sign can inform oneself as well as another one, and the composition and performance are two necessary stages of communication. Accordingly these two informations can be coexistent with one another in the world of signs, sounding under a sonorous counterpoint.