Information: A Very Short Introduction

We live an information-soaked existence - information pours into our lives through television, radio, books, and of course, the Internet. Some say we suffer from ''infoglut''. But what is information? The concept of ''information'' is a profound one, rooted in mathematics, central to whole branches of science, yet with implications on every aspect of our everyday lives: DNA provides the information to create us; we learn through the information fed to us; we relate toeach other through information transfer - gossip, lectures, reading. Information is not only a mathematically powerful concept, but its critical role in society raises wider ethical issues: who owns information? Who controls its dissemination? Who has access to information?Luciano Floridi, a philosopher of information, cuts across many subjects, from a brief look at the mathematical roots of information - its definition and measurement in ''bits''- to its role in genetics (we are information), and its social meaning and va