Three features of information
Information is a meaning that we get from signs such as words, numbers, pictures or sounds. It behaves differently from things you can hold.
- Residual: after you share information, you still have it. An apple given away is gone, but news told to a friend is still with you.
- Copyable: you can make copies quickly and cheaply, and the copy is as good as the original.
- Spreadable: information can travel to many people very fast, especially through the internet.
Two more features are useful: information can be kept for a long time, and it can be changed or deleted by someone, so it may be wrong.
Why these features matter
Good news and lessons can reach millions in minutes. Bad news, rumours, wrong facts and private photos spread in the same way and are very hard to call back. Once information has been copied by many people, you cannot collect every copy. So: think before you post, check before you forward, and ask before you share someone's private information.
Media and their features
A medium (plural: media) is the carrier that takes information from a sender to a receiver. Examples: paper, voice and radio, TV, books, posters, websites, phones.
Each medium has its own strengths:
- Printed paper: lasts long, needs no power, slow to spread.
- Voice and radio: quick, and works for people who cannot read, but it vanishes unless recorded.
- Screen and internet: fast, can use text, picture, sound and video together, can reach the whole world, but needs power and a network.
Choose the medium that fits the reader, the message and the situation. A medium also shapes the message: a short post and a long article of the same news feel different.
The problem-solving process
A problem is a gap between what we have and what we want. Use five steps and go round again if needed.
- Understand the problem. Say it in one sentence: what is wanted?
- Collect information. Find facts from reliable sources. Check them.
- Think of options. List more than one way. Compare pros and cons.
- Choose and try. Pick the best option and carry it out, or make a small test first.
- Check and improve. Did it work? If not, go back to an earlier step.
Computers help by storing facts, sorting and showing them in charts. But the person decides what the problem is and whether the result makes sense.
Try it
Ask a friend to tell a short sentence to one person, who tells it to the next, for four people. Compare the last sentence with the first. What changed? That is how information changes as it spreads. Next, use the five rungs for a real problem such as "our class notice board is ignored".
Key formulas and definitions
- Residual: after sharing, the giver still has the information
- Copyable: copy โ original, cost โ very small
- Spreadable: 1 โ 3 โ 9 โ 27 (each person tells 3 more)
- Problem-solving loop: Understand โ Collect โ Think of options โ Choose and try โ Check and improve
Worked examples
1. Why is a song file different from a mango when you share it with a friend?
If you give away the mango, you no longer have it. If you send the song file, you keep it and the friend gets a copy. Information is residual and copyable, a mango is not.
2. A rumour starts with 1 person. Each person tells 3 new people. How many people know after 4 rounds in total, counting the first person?
Round 0: 1. Round 1: 3. Round 2: 9. Round 3: 27. Round 4: 81. Total = 1 + 3 + 9 + 27 + 81 = 121 people.
3. Which medium is best for warning villagers about a flood tonight: printed leaflet, loudspeaker, or a long web page? Why?
Loudspeaker (voice). It is fast, reaches people who cannot read and needs no phone. A leaflet is slow and a web page needs a network and time to read.
4. A school wants to reduce plastic bottles. Give one action for each step of the problem-solving loop.
Understand: too many bottles in the bin. Collect: count bottles for a week. Options: refill points, steel bottles, a deposit. Choose: refill points, try in one class. Check: count again and improve.
Common mistakes
- Thinking that sharing information means you lose it. It is residual, so you keep it.
- Believing that a copy is weaker than the original. A digital copy is exactly the same.
- Forwarding a message before checking if it is true, because spreading is easy.
- Jumping to a solution before understanding the problem and collecting facts.