2.1 Information and Information Transmission

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Acoustic Transmission Channel

The example of the human voice can be used to illustrate the above concept. The hu-

man voice consists, in addition to the fundamental frequency, of a large number of

overtones, which also make up the timbre. The information of speech, singing, pitch

and rhythm is modulated onto the fundamental by the speech apparatus. The trans-

mission signal therefore transports a series of specially arranged vibrations that oc-

cupy a certain frequency band in the acoustic transmission channel. Usually, this

transmission channel is disturbed by noise and ambient sounds, so that not all of the

information always reaches the receiver. The receiver must also be able to understand

the pre-agreed code of the speech. In the case of a foreign language, this might not be

the case, and consequently neither information is transmitted nor is it followed by an

action. In addition to the statistical description according to Shannon, a number of

other aspects play a role in the transmission of information that are not yet included

in the afore defined information theory. These are included in an expanded concept

of information.

Extended Information

The concept of information according to Shannon is of great importance in the trans-

mission and processing of signals and data, but this concept does not make any state-

ments about the meaning of messages, i.e. about their semantics. Accordingly, the

term information in this representation does not include the meaning of the signs. This

is addressed by an extended information concept of natural law information coined by

W. Gitt⁷. With its help, the transmission of information can also be described in five dif-

ferent levels shown in Figure 2.5. In the lowest level of this concept, the Shannonian

information concept of statistics is found, above it the levels of syntax, semantics,

pragmatics and apobetics.

The statistics describe the variety of possible characters, the syntax their arrange-

ment and the semantics their meaning. Pragmatics and apobetics ultimately refer to

the understanding, interpretation and execution of an information message; here the

message is decoded, interpreted and executed with the agreed code.

According to W. Gitt [19], extended information I⁺ only exists if all five hierarch-

ical levels, i.e. statistics, syntax, semantics, pragmatics and apobedtics (according to

Figure 2.5), are present in an observable system and the empirical theorems of natural

law information theory (NGIT) established by him apply:

1.

A material quantity cannot give rise to a non-material quantity.

2.

Information is a non-material fundamental quantity.

3.

Information is the non-material basis for all program-controlled technical systems

and for all biological systems.

4.

There is no information without code.

7 Werner Gitt (1937) is a German engineer and founder of natural law information theory