Madden, A.D. (2004) Evolution and information. Journal of Documentation, 60 (1). pp. 9-23. ISSN 0022-0418
Abstract
The association between life and information is discussed. Information is considered to be “a stimulus which expands or amends the World View of the informed”. Using this definition, the standard chain of evolutionary development is reconsidered. It is proposed that information was derived from the environment as a direct result of the evolution of organisms that used other organisms as a food source. Only with the evolution of sexual reproduction did it become necessary for organisms to be aware of others of the same species. It is argued that one of the consequences of the evolution of different sexes is that often, prospective mates had to evolve means of communication, making it possible for animals to expand their World Views by other means. Such reinterpretation of evolutionary thinking has numerous implications for the information scientist. Some of these are discussed.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2004 Emerald. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of Documentation The paper does not contain any changes made during the peer review process. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Information, Evolution, Information retrieval, Communication |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Information School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Andrew D. Madden |
Date Deposited: | 28 Jan 2013 15:13 |
Last Modified: | 15 Sep 2014 03:35 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00220410410516626 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Emerald |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1108/00220410410516626 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:74895 |