A Humanities Based Approach to Formally Defining Information through Modelling

Abstract

A traditional, and reasonable, way of thinking about the digital and modelling within the context of the humanities is to begin with humanistic inquiry and then explore the world of information processing and management through digital technologies, such as virtual reality, computers, smartphones, and tablets. This chain of thought revolves around the idea that information is part of the world of computing with its technological methods and marvels. However, through traditional humanities topics such as language and sensory arts, we claim that the idea of information and information processing is part and parcel of the humanistic tradition. Seeing the world as information is a matter of interpretation, and not of technologically-motivated implementation, even though such implementation provides us with efficient tools for managing information. Written and pictorial languages are a basis for formalizing information and models, independent of technology.