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2 Fundamentals of Information, Signal and System Theory

Apobetics

Pragmatics

Semantics

Syntax

Statistics

transmitted information

received information

Transmitter

Receiver

goal

achieved

action

performed

meaning

understood

code

understood

received

signal

intended

result

expected

action

thoughts

shared

code

used

transmitted

signal

Fig. 2.5: Information transmission according to the concept of W. Gitt’s extended natural law inform-

ation theory [19].

5.

Every code is the result of a free will agreement.

6.

There is no new information without an intelligent and volitional transmitter.

7.

Information at the end of a chain of transmission can be traced back to an intelli-

gent source.

8.

Assigning meaning to a set of symbols is a mental process that requires intelli-

gence.

9.

No information can be created in statistical processes.

10. Information storage / transmission occurs only on energetic or material carriers.

Definition of the Term Biosignal

With the help of the extended information, the term biosignal can be defined as fol-

lows: A biosignal is an energetically-materially-measurable, physical quantity of a liv-

ing individual in which the diagnostic information of the physiological correlations

are encoded in an unknown way. In the case of a biosignal, a further distinction can

be made between so-called evoked and so-called autonomous which cannot/can be

influenced by freewill. An important insight that can be drawn from this for biosignal

processing is, that the diagnostic information about the function or malfunction of a