The conduit metaphor and the nature and politics of information studies

: This article examines information theory from the aspect of its "conduit metaphor." A historical approach and a close reading of certain texts by Warren Weaver and Norbert Wiener shows how this metaphor was used to construct notions of language, information, information theory, and information science and was used to extend the range of these notions across social and political space during the period of the Cold War. The article suggests that this legacy remains with us today in certain notions of information and information theory and that this has affected not only social space in general, but in particular, the range and possibilities of information studies. I. The Conduit Metaphor Norbert Wiener, one of the chief founders of modern information theory and cybernetics, makes a rather startling series of claims in the beginning of the fifth chapter ("Organization as the Message") of the 1954 edition of his book, The Human Use of Human Beings. His claims are...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2000
• Where: JASIS
• Authors: Ronald E. Day
• Keywords: Conduit Metaphor, Information Theory, JASIS 2000, Norbert Wiener