Meaning and Purpose

• A message must have meaning and purpose for the receiver for it to be information

• Meaning:

• Example: for an English-speaking person, “cat” = a small furry animal (has meaning)

• “xgh” = not an English word, has no meaning

• Purpose:

• Randomly texting the word “cat” to someone has no purpose and therefore provides no information

• Texting the word “cat” in response to a prior question about animals has a purpose and provides information