Control Information

Control Information: "Control information has a number of distinctive properties. First and foremost, it does not have any independent existence. It is not a concrete thing, or a mechanism. It is defined (and specified) by the relationship between a particular cybernetic system (a user) and his/her/its environment(s) – external and internal. In this paradigm, the environment contains latent or potential control information (which we designate “Ip”), but this potential does not differ in any way from the physical properties of the environment. This is a crucial point; there are no discrete embedded properties out there. Moreover, this potential is only actualized when a purposeful (cybernetic) system makes use of it. In other words, the very existence and functional effects produced by control information are always context-dependent and user-specific. A few examples may help to clarify this seemingly paradoxical, even counter-intuitive notion:"