4 ms·

What's the Difference between "Data" and "Information"?

4 points by dbreunig 17y ago

I've been asking this question around and have been getting some interesting responses. Thoughts? "To you, what is the difference between 'data' and 'information'?"

noodle 17y ago
the dictionary definitions are almost identical and they're referred to as synonyms. but when i use the words, i tend to refer to data as information that has been processed/arranged/sorted/whatever. data implies structured information. and of course, information can still be used, as a word, to refer to data. thats just how i tend to use it.
- sophacles 17y ago
  I tend to use them exactly opposite. Data is a collection of values. They may be good or bad in need of massaging, and so on. Information is what we learn by processing data, facts or statistics or whatnot that can be deduced from the data.
  - dbreunig 17y ago
    This is exactly why this question fascinates me. The usage flip flops constantly.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- Travis 17y ago
  I think the opposite. Data is just raw, information is one level abstracted, and knowledge is the next step (information + expertise). Data technologies -> information technologies -> knowledge technologies. In the music example, data is the binary. Information is the song (format agnostic). Knowledge is knowing that the band is awesome, played such-and-such show, is in this genre, etc.
  - CyberFonic 17y ago
    I tend to agree with Travis. You know when you see it! Let's take another example. Let's assume we have a series of temperature readings, 80, 40, 60, 90 degrees. Thay are data points. If we add timestamps to them then we it might reflect some process (I deliberately didn't mark them as Fahrenheit or Celsius) we could graph them to show changing temperature over time. If we add location data, say from a GPS, then taken together it is information about temperature at some location over a period of time, such as a weather bureau might have. Another example, take the number 84193221, what is it, if I say it's to do with John Smith, then you'd still be in the dark. I could say it's his phone number or his net worth in cents. I like to think that a collection of data with specific relationships is information.
rpbertp13 17y ago
I have the sense that information is content, and that data is content in a specific form. I think the difference is plain if you think about file formats. I would be inclined to say that .wav and .mp3 versions of the same audio recording consist of very different data, but carry very similar information (not the same because of the quality degradation inherent in compression)

4 points by dbreunig 17y ago

I've been asking this question around and have been getting some interesting responses. Thoughts? "To you, what is the difference between 'data' and 'information'?"

noodle 17y ago

the dictionary definitions are almost identical and they're referred to as synonyms. but when i use the words, i tend to refer to data as information that has been processed/arranged/sorted/whatever. data implies structured information. and of course, information can still be used, as a word, to refer to data. thats just how i tend to use it.

sophacles 17y ago
I tend to use them exactly opposite. Data is a collection of values. They may be good or bad in need of massaging, and so on. Information is what we learn by processing data, facts or statistics or whatnot that can be deduced from the data.
- dbreunig 17y ago
  This is exactly why this question fascinates me. The usage flip flops constantly.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
Travis 17y ago
I think the opposite. Data is just raw, information is one level abstracted, and knowledge is the next step (information + expertise). Data technologies -> information technologies -> knowledge technologies. In the music example, data is the binary. Information is the song (format agnostic). Knowledge is knowing that the band is awesome, played such-and-such show, is in this genre, etc.
- CyberFonic 17y ago
  I tend to agree with Travis. You know when you see it! Let's take another example. Let's assume we have a series of temperature readings, 80, 40, 60, 90 degrees. Thay are data points. If we add timestamps to them then we it might reflect some process (I deliberately didn't mark them as Fahrenheit or Celsius) we could graph them to show changing temperature over time. If we add location data, say from a GPS, then taken together it is information about temperature at some location over a period of time, such as a weather bureau might have. Another example, take the number 84193221, what is it, if I say it's to do with John Smith, then you'd still be in the dark. I could say it's his phone number or his net worth in cents. I like to think that a collection of data with specific relationships is information.

rpbertp13 17y ago

I have the sense that information is content, and that data is content in a specific form. I think the difference is plain if you think about file formats. I would be inclined to say that .wav and .mp3 versions of the same audio recording consist of very different data, but carry very similar information (not the same because of the quality degradation inherent in compression)