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


Researchers crack part of the neuronal code

Researchers crack part of the neuronal code

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Prostheses for paralysed patients, communication with patients who have lost all capacity for normal communication - the hopes for modern brain research are high. However, such brain-machine ...


Dwave processor

Google Collaborates with D-Wave on Possible Quantum Image Search

Physics / General Physics

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (21) | comments 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- Always on the cutting edge of new computing technologies, Google has recently announced that it is investigating the use of quantum computing schemes to achieve faster image recognition rates. ...





Search results for information processing


Egg Processing Plant Carts Can Harbor Bacteria

Egg Processing Plant Carts Can Harbor Bacteria

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Dec 21, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Plywood-shelved carts that are used to transport eggs into processing plants can harbor Enterobacteriaceae, according to a microbial survey conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) ...


Better-than-new LIDAR provides 24/7 atmospheric aerosol data

Better-than-new LIDAR provides 24/7 atmospheric aerosol data

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

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

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers from eight institutions led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has solved a software and hardware problem that had perplexed scientists studying atmospheric aerosols ...


Researchers demonstrate a better way for computers to 'see' (w/ Video)

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (17) | comments 4

Taking inspiration from genetic screening techniques, researchers from Harvard and MIT have demonstrated a way to build better artificial visual systems with the help of low-cost, high-performance gaming hardware.


Physicists lay the groundwork for cooler, faster computing

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (25) | comments 5

University of Toronto quantum optics researchers Sajeev John and Xun Ma have discovered new behaviours of light within photonic crystals that could lead to faster optical information processing and compact computers that ...


NXP Introduces Advanced 3DTV Processor

Electronics / Hardware

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

NXP Semiconductors today announced the availability of the PNX5130, the industry's first video co-processor enabling 3DTV, frame-rate conversion (FRC) and local backlight dimming in a single chip. By eliminating the need ...


The thalamus, middleman of the brain, becomes a sensory conductor

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Two new studies show that the thalamus--the small central brain structure often characterized as a mere pit-stop for sensory information on its way to the cortex--is heavily involved in sensory processing, and is an important ...


I see your pain

I see your pain

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- How can some sportsmen and women, in the heat of the moment, play on through pain that would floor anyone else? Bert Trautmann, the Manchester City goalkeeper, famously played on through to ...


New study finds men and women may respond differently to danger

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 29, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study brain activation have found that men and women respond differently to positive and negative stimuli, according to a study presented today at the annual ...


FTC expands Intel anti-competition probe, sources say

Technology / Business

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

The Federal Trade Commission has broadened its investigation of Santa Clara, Calif., chipmaker Intel beyond the company's competition with Advanced Micro Devices to include at least one other Silicon Valley company, Nvidia, ...


Racing, shooting and zapping your way to better visual skills

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Do your kids want a Wii, a PlayStation or an Xbox 360 this year? This holiday gift season is packed with popular gaming systems and adrenaline-pumping, sharpshooting games. What's a parent to do? Is there any redeeming value ...



List of search results for information processing