| Interestingly,
data surrounded by context, even organized data, have to be transmitted
to become information.
Take the following
hypothetical example.
Suppose that a group
of local scientists develops an interest in the apparent decrease
in the number of Monarch butterflies to appear in annual migrations
to the Santa Cruz area. The only insect known to migrate, large
numbers of the beautiful Monarchs winter at some 300 sites in
California, including Natural
Bridges State Beach here in Santa Cruz. (Click on Natural
Bridges State Beach to see pictures of the Monarch butterflies.
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The group of scientists
develops two hypotheses.
One is that there might
be too much urban buildup in areas surrounding the wintering sites
(e.g., more parking lots, taller buildings, fewer eucalyptus trees
for the Monarchs to nest in).
The second hypothesis
is that there is less naturally occurring milkweed where Monarchs
stay in the summer months (females lay eggs on the underside of
milkweed plants).
The group decides to
pursue the second hypothesis and launches its research. For several
summers the scientists and their students collect data on how
widely available milkweed plants are in the areas where the Monarchs
breed. They correlate these data with butterfly counts at the
wintering sites.
But, suppose that they
never publish, never give interviews, never "get the word
out" about their research. Have they created information?
No! Data, even when
surrounded by context, have to be transmitted before it
all becomes information.
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