REFLECTIONS ON INFORMATION AND INFORMATION VALUE

Information, as explicated by C. E. Shannon (1949), refers to the redu ction in uncertainty about the state of an event after a message has b een sent relative to the uncertainty about the state of the event befo re the message was sent. Information value, as explicated by R. A. How ard (1966) and others, refers to the difference in what one can gain b y action taken knowing the state of the event relative to what one can gain by action taken without such knowledge. This paper considers the relation between the two concepts, information and information value, to the authors knowledge not heretofore discussed. It is concluded th at the two concepts are independent, characterizing quite different as pects of information seeking and using. In application, the cost of th e first term (information) subtracts from the second term (information value), and/or diminishes the latter in relation to information acces s time.