What+is+Information?

Have you ever wondered what information is?

The world we live in contains objects (things). For example, I am working just now at a brown, rectangular desk which is approximately 1 metre high.

By describing the desk in this way, I have identified three of its **properties** (sometimes called **attributes**) – its colour, shape and height – and have provided **facts** that **describe** those properties. These facts are **information**.

So, information is simply facts about things!

When we identify an object’s properties, then we identify the things we think are **important** and **relevant** about it. We ignore properties we don’t think are important.

In the case of my desk, I could have recorded much more information – some of it relevant for some purposes, some not e.g.
 * its manufacturer;
 * distance from the door;
 * whether it wobbles;
 * where it was made;
 * when it was made;
 * the number of scratches visible on its surface;
 * the thickness of the surface;
 * its cost
 * etc.