Information processing

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Information processing is the change (processing) of information in any manner detectable by an observer. As such, it is a process which describes everything which happens (changes) in the universe, from the falling of a rock (a change in position) to the printing of a text file from a digital computer system. In the latter case, an information processor is changing the form of presentation of that text file. Information processing may more specifically be defined in terms used by Claude E. Shannon as the conversion of latent information into manifest information[citation needed]. Latent and manifest information is defined through the terms of equivocation (remaining uncertainty, what value the sender has actually chosen), dissipation (uncertainty of the sender what the receiver has actually received) and transformation (saved effort of questioning - equivocation minus dissipation)[citation needed].

Within the field of cognitive psychology, information processing is an approach to the goal of understanding human thinking. It arose in the 1940s and 1950s. The essence of the approach is to see cognition as being essentially computational in nature, with mind being the software and the brain being the hardware. The information processing approach in psychology is closely allied to cognitivism in psychology and functionalism in philosophy although the terms are not quite synonymous. Information processing may be sequential or parallel, either of which may be centralized or decentralized (distributed). The parallel distributed processing approach of the mid-1980s became popular under the name connectionism. In the early 1950s Friedrich Hayek was ahead of his time when he posited the idea of spontaneous order in the brain arising out of decentralized networks of simple units (neurons). However, Hayek is rarely cited in the literature of connectionism.

In the 1970s, Abraham Moles and Frieder Nake were among the first to establish and analyze links between information processing and aesthetics.

For more information about Information processing, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with information processing

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It's all in the footwork: New research sheds light on parrot intelligence

It's all in the footwork: New research sheds light on parrot intelligence

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 07, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (10) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- You can tell how smart a parrot is by watching what it does with its feet, according to a new study by Macquarie University researchers.


NIST demonstrates sustained quantum information processing

Sustained quantum information processing demonstrated

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Aug 06, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (16) | comments 1

Raising prospects for building a practical quantum computer, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated sustained, reliable information processing operations on electrically ...


Quantum memory and turbulence in ultra-cold atoms

Quantum memory and turbulence in ultra-cold atoms

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Jul 20, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Scientists at MIT have figured out a key step toward the design of quantum information networks. The results are reported in the July 20th issue of Physical Review Letters and highlighted in APS's on-line journa ...


Tying up loose ends for a quantum leap

Technology / Other

created Jul 10, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Quantum technologies have become the Holy Grail of the IT industry with research projects springing up all over Europe. Now a major effort is being made to spur development by adopting a coordinated, structured approach.


Scientists create first electronic quantum processor

Scientists create first electronic quantum processor

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Jun 28, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (57) | comments 46

A team led by Yale University researchers has created the first rudimentary solid-state quantum processor, taking another step toward the ultimate dream of building a quantum computer.


Scientists demonstrate all-fiber quantum logic

Scientists demonstrate all-fiber quantum logic

Physics / Quantum Physics

created May 28, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (12) | comments 3

A team of physicists and engineers have demonstrated all-fibre quantum logic, where single photons are generated and used to perform the controlled-NOT quantum logic gate in optical fibres with high fidelity.


Too much entanglement can render quantum computers useless

Physics / Quantum Physics

created May 25, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (20) | comments 4

(PhysOrg.com) -- "For certain tasks, quantum computers are more powerful than their classical counterparts. The task to be performed is the same for quantum or classical systems. However, the former ones can do it in a more ...


Vitamin D3

Vitamin D found in fish boosts brain power

Medicine & Health / Health

created May 21, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (9) | comments 0

Eating fish -- long considered 'brain food' -- may really be good for the old grey matter, as is a healthy dose of sunshine, new research suggests.


Post-Quantum Correlations: Exploring the Limits of Quantum Nonlocality

Post-Quantum Correlations: Exploring the Limits of Quantum Nonlocality

Physics / Quantum Physics

created May 07, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (22) | comments 20

(PhysOrg.com) -- When it comes to nonlocal correlations, some correlations are more nonlocal than others. As the subject of study for several decades, nonlocal correlations (for example, quantum entanglement) ...


Scientists to study diamond-based quantum information processing, communication

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Apr 15, 2009 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) -- In the quest for quantum information processing, diamonds may be a physicist's best friend.


X marks the spot: Ions coldly go through NIST trap junction

X marks the spot: Ions coldly go through NIST trap junction

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 08, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated a new ion trap that enables ions to go through an intersection while keeping their cool. Ten million times ...


Entangled Light in Bose-Einstein Condensates

Entangled Light in Bose-Einstein Condensates

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 08, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (16) | comments 13

(PhysOrg.com) -- When physicists entangle light, they usually use nonlinear crystals as the source. However, it’s difficult to control the entanglement generation process in a bulk crystal, and so scientists ...


Clarke clarifies pattern recognition theory of humour

Other Sciences / Other

created Mar 26, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Recent commentary has suggested that the extent to which anomaly theories have become ingrained in the minds of academics and popular commentators alike has led to certain common assumptions and misconceptions about Clarke's pattern recognition theory of humour. ...


Making quantum computing scalable

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Mar 20, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (10) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Quantum information processing is one of the hottest areas of science and technology right now. Making quantum information processing scalable is an important part of the efforts involved with regard to practical ...


Researcher identifies just 8 patterns as the cause of all humor

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Mar 20, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (15) | comments 11

Evolutionary theorist Alastair Clarke has today published details of eight patterns he claims to be the basis of all the humour that has ever been imagined or expressed, regardless of civilization, culture or personal taste.