Interpreting the world across a boundary. The evolution of information from life's first decisions to the information society
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-04-2013-0051 |
| Pages | 676-686 |
| Published date | 08 July 2014 |
| Date | 08 July 2014 |
| Author | Andrew David Madden |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management |
Interpreting the world across
a boundary
The evolution of information from life’s first
decisions to the information society
Andrew David Madden
Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between information
and boundaries. Life depends on boundaries; but in order to survive an organism needs to make
decisions based on an interpretation of the environment beyond its boundaries: it therefore needs
information.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the evolution of physical, social and
cultural boundaries and considers how they have shaped ways in which information is gathered
and used.
Findings – Several evolutionary developments are reviewed. The paper argues that each one has
generated an additional boundary and that each new boundary has affected the information needs
within it. The paper argues that all living things use information to help address three fundamental
concerns: “Where can the energy needed to stay alive be found?”, “How can it be stored?”, and “How
can use of energy be reduced?” Because these questions are fundamental at a biological level they are
also fundamental at a societal level. One way to increase energy efficiency was for organisms to grow
larger. This brought risks which were alleviated by the evolution of better information gathering and
processing tools. Amongst these tools were the means to communicate, which afforded the evolution
of social boundaries.
Originality/value – This is a new perspective on a topic of growing interest in information science
and demonstrates further the significance of information as a factor in the shaping of life.
Keywords Behaviour, Communication, Evolution, Information, Information society, Biology
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
In recent years there has been growing interest in the idea of applying evolutionary
ideas to information science. Much of this interest has concentrated on the evolution of
humanity and cognition (e.g. Spink, 2010), but some has had a wider focus (Bates, 2005)
and has explored the origins of information in “de ep time” (Bawden, 2007). This paper
also takes a wider perspective than the merely human. It revisits ideas that I proposed
ten years ago concerning the association between information and life (Madden, 2004)
and attempts to develop them further.
Richard Fortey (1998) notes that “Cellular life is a mass of chemical reactions
surrounded by a skin, but it is a skin through which the environment can be heard
selectively” (p. 44). In Ma dden (2004), I argued that, essentially, information was what
makes it across the skin (or more generically, boundary). In this paper I develop the
idea that there is a close association between infor mation and boundaries, and
I explore the way that this association has evolved as boundaries have developed from
the purely physical to the social. I discuss the evolutionary development of boundaries,
from cell membranes to cultural boundaries, and consider the implications of these
developments for the acquisition, selection and use of infor mation.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0022-0418.htm
Received 25 April 2013
Revised 15 September 2013
Accepted 17 September 2013
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 70 No. 4, 2014
pp. 676-686
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/J D-04-2013-0051
676
JDOC
70,4
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