This is a slightly updated and extended version of a paper by myself and Lyn Robinson, presented at the 9th Conceptions of Library and Information Science conference, Uppsala, 28 June 2016. It includes some additional points raised in discussion of the paper. Introduction This is a different kind of knowing… It’s like understanding, I suppose… Continue reading “A different kind of knowing”: speculations on understanding in light of the Philosophy of Information
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Information, misinformation disinformation: Copenhagen interlude
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the Danish Royal School of Library and Information Science, now part of the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Humanities, to act as part of the committee for the defence of the doctoral thesis of Sille Obelitz Søe. The thesis, entitled "The urge to detect, the… Continue reading Information, misinformation disinformation: Copenhagen interlude
The new dualism of information and data science
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to hear Luciano Floridi give a Turing Lecture at the British Library Conference Centre, on 'Ethics in the Age of Information'. The Alan Turing Institute is the UK's national institute for data science, and locates itself at the intersection of computer science, mathematics, statistics and systems engineering.… Continue reading The new dualism of information and data science
The noblest pleasure: theories of understanding in the information sciences
This is a modified and updated version of a chapter published in 'Theory development in the information sciences' (edited by Diane Sonnenwald, University of Texas Press, 2016, pages 281-299). Some newer references are included here, but for the full bibliography, see the original chapter. My aim in writing the chapter was to set out my… Continue reading The noblest pleasure: theories of understanding in the information sciences
The once and future editorial; expressing academic opinion
This is an amended and expanded version of an editorial to appear in Journal of Documentation. My copy of Chambers Dictionary tells me that an editorial is "an article in a newspaper, written by an editor or leader writer". Merriam-Webster puts it slightly differently: "a newspaper or magazine article that gives the opinions of the… Continue reading The once and future editorial; expressing academic opinion
Plus ça change in information research; or the modernity of older studies
Aslib was, from 1924 to 2010, an independent membership organisation for special librarianship, technical and commercial information work, and latterly for information management, It was highly influential in the development of documentation and information science, in the UK and worldwide. Its activities included research and consultancy, training, professional development, publishing, and technology development. Aslib was… Continue reading Plus ça change in information research; or the modernity of older studies
Remembering Sir Joseph: the Paxton150 conference
I attended Paxton150, a conference to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Sir Joseph Paxton, last week. Organised by the Department of Landscape at Sheffield University, this meeting both looked back at the history of public parks, and the influence of Paxton and his followers on their development, and also examined their future,… Continue reading Remembering Sir Joseph: the Paxton150 conference
Albert’s imagination and the significance of information
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination (Albert Einstein) As you no doubt know, this year marks the hundredth anniversary of Einstein’s theory of general relativity, first presented by him in 1915 to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. Even among physics enthusiasts, general relativity has a daunting reputation, largely because of its… Continue reading Albert’s imagination and the significance of information
i3 in the Grey City
i3 – Information: interactions and impact – is a conference held at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen every two years. This year’s conference was held in late June, the fifth in the series, and the first I’d had a chance to go to. Located in the Aberdeen Business School, the conference venue gave a chance… Continue reading i3 in the Grey City
On not being a weak discipline
I attended the ISI conference in Zadar earlier this year, as co-author of a paper on the relation between library and information science (LIS) and the digital humanities, which my colleague Lyn Robinson has blogged about. I found myself involved in a panel discussion on the state of information science research, in which some of… Continue reading On not being a weak discipline
The Occasional Informationist 