A cognitive view of data, information and knowledge.

What is it about?

This paper provides an appropriate interpretation of the communication and knowledge acquisition process from the cognitive viewpoint. At the same time, it also aims to clarify the role of information (and data) within those processes, by recognized them as a separate processes during which two kinds of 'information flow' within cognitive domain of observer are occurring. One is connected with a flow of information in the process of observing (or recognizing) already known 'cognitive entities', which is straightening toward the Shannon's communication theory, and another one, which simple enables the growth or reduction of acquired knowledge. In the line with such a theoretical approach, the paper seeks to provide an extension of Shannon's original idea, with intention to involve observer's background knowledge as an important framework for the deepening of the information theory grounds.

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Why is it important?

In a metaphorical sense, one can recognize information as a 'vehicle' of data representations that drives through the cognitive system of the observer on the 'data surface' – 'knowledge structure' route. Beyond that metaphorical interpretation, the information is recognized as the relational property of encoded cognitive entities or data representations, which reflect its ability to establish as many relations as possible in the knowledge structure of the observer. Thus, one may notice that this kind of 'cognitive information' is slightly distinguished even from the concept of informativeness (or measure of novelty), while we could imagine a very new data representation that is unable to establish any relation in the existing knowledge structure. That is the reason why we, in line with an exposed theoretical approach, advocate an extension of Shannon's original idea, with the intention of involving the observer's background knowledge as an important framework for deepening the grounds of information theory.

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