Skip to main content
Home
plus.maths.org

Secondary menu

  • My list
  • About Plus
  • Sponsors
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Log in
  • Main navigation

  • Home
  • Articles
  • Collections
  • Podcasts
  • Maths in a minute
  • Puzzles
  • Videos
  • Topics and tags
  • For

    • cat icon
      Curiosity
    • newspaper icon
      Media
    • graduation icon
      Education
    • briefcase icon
      Policy

      Popular topics and tags

      Shapes

      • Geometry
      • Vectors and matrices
      • Topology
      • Networks and graph theory
      • Fractals

      Numbers

      • Number theory
      • Arithmetic
      • Prime numbers
      • Fermat's last theorem
      • Cryptography

      Computing and information

      • Quantum computing
      • Complexity
      • Information theory
      • Artificial intelligence and machine learning
      • Algorithm

      Data and probability

      • Statistics
      • Probability and uncertainty
      • Randomness

      Abstract structures

      • Symmetry
      • Algebra and group theory
      • Vectors and matrices

      Physics

      • Fluid dynamics
      • Quantum physics
      • General relativity, gravity and black holes
      • Entropy and thermodynamics
      • String theory and quantum gravity

      Arts, humanities and sport

      • History and philosophy of mathematics
      • Art and Music
      • Language
      • Sport

      Logic, proof and strategy

      • Logic
      • Proof
      • Game theory

      Calculus and analysis

      • Differential equations
      • Calculus

      Towards applications

      • Mathematical modelling
      • Dynamical systems and Chaos

      Applications

      • Medicine and health
      • Epidemiology
      • Biology
      • Economics and finance
      • Engineering and architecture
      • Weather forecasting
      • Climate change

      Understanding of mathematics

      • Public understanding of mathematics
      • Education

      Get your maths quickly

      • Maths in a minute

      Main menu

    • Home
    • Articles
    • Collections
    • Podcasts
    • Maths in a minute
    • Puzzles
    • Videos
    • Topics and tags
    • Audiences

      • cat icon
        Curiosity
      • newspaper icon
        Media
      • graduation icon
        Education
      • briefcase icon
        Policy

      Secondary menu

    • My list
    • About Plus
    • Sponsors
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    • Log in
    • What is information?

      5 June, 2015
      FQXi logo

      Information — it pertains to anything from telephone directories to the deep mystery of life and the Universe. The first article below introduces some of the questions it poses. The others explore information in other contexts, such as computers, biology and philosophy.

      These articles are part of our Information about information project, run in collaboration with FQXi. Happy reading!

      What is information? An introduction — Books, brains, computers; information comes in many guises. But what can we actually say about its nature and what questions does it pose? We talked to mathematician and cosmologist George Ellis to give a first idea of some of the ideas involved.

      Codes, computers and trees — Most of us know that computers store information using only 0s and 1s. Here is a gentle introduction to how this works.

      Information, decisions and bits — A bit is a unit of information, just as a centimetre is a unit of length. But how can we possibly chop information up in this way? Find out in this article.

      Biology's next microscope, mathematics' next physics — Not all information is made by humans with a particular intention in mind. Nature also carries information, the prime example being the information stored in our DNA. But are there fundamental laws that govern biological information, just as there are fundamental laws governing physics?

      Life's crystal ball — Could the ability to use information cleverly be connected to how efficiently an organism uses energy and define the difference between living and inanimate matter? This article first appeared on the FQXi communities website. FQXi are our partners on this project.

      Made of maths? — Some people have suggested that reality is actually made of information, rather than just described by it. If that information has a coherent structure that is captured by maths, then perhaps we could think of reality as a mathematical structure? In this article a philosopher ponders the possibility.

      Read more about...
      information about information
      • Log in or register to post comments

      Read more about...

      information about information
      University of Cambridge logo

      Plus Magazine is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.
      Copyright © 1997 - 2025. University of Cambridge. All rights reserved.

      Terms