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The Emergence and Development of Theoretical Informatics

Duan Zhan-qi，Gao Hong，Jin Xin-zheng

Medical information department, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, wuhan430030, China [email protected]

Abstract： At present, information technology is developing very rapidly. Numerous traditional disciplines have to be informationized and domain informatics derived from it. It calls for the emergence of theoretical informatics because of the need of domain informatics, National Informatization and the transformation of industrial society to an information society. However, present information theory has limitation, for example, the Shannon communication theory only applies to communications. In this paper, we use the system engineering theory. Firstly we study the background of the theoretical informatics. Secondly we analyze the status of it and the limitation of present information theory. And then we discuss the hotspots of the theoretical informatics both at home and abroad. At last, we point out that the development of it should break out the shackles of theoretical paradigms.

Keywords: Theoretical Informatics, Domain Informatics, Shannon Communication Theory, Unified Information Theory

Acknowledgement: We are particularly grateful to Professor Jin Xin-zheng who has given us grate help and guidance in writing this paper.

theory in the flush development of Math1. On 1. Introduction the road of the development of information In the history of the development of science, science, we are experiencing the most serious the crisis of the basic theory is a common crisis of basic theory in the human civilization phenomenon on the road of subject's process. and the history of scientific development. There were three times of crisis of the basic 1 Zhang Shun-yan. (2003). the Sources and Flow of Mathematics．Beijing：Higher Education Press.

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There are not only scientific crisis, the reference for information philosophy3. scientific paradigm crisis, but also a crisis of Philosophy, the world outlook and 3. The background of the engenderer methodology crisis. The establishment and of theoretical informatics improvement of theoretical informatics, which 3.1 Numerous domain informatics needs acts as the basic theory of the whole common theoretical foundation information science, is the main symbol of the development and maturity of knowledge In the process of constructing theoretical system of information science. Because the system of domain informatics, the first complete knowledge system of information problem we met is the definition of domain science has not been established in our information which is distinguished from information society; meanwhile, the research particularity of general information definition. objects of present domain informatics are The second problem is the expression of special and the throughway is limited by basic principle of domain informatics, which physical paradigm, it is impossible to uncover is the start of the theories or pre-established the general principals of different information problems. The resolution of these issues is phenomenon. So the development of the subject to the development of theoretical theoretical informatics is the despairing need informatics4. of the development of science and the progress of society2. What is the theoretical 3.2 “National Informatization” requires informatics? How did it engender? What is the theoretical informatics current development of it? All of the above In the 1960s, the scholar in countries like problems were expatiated in this paper. America and Japan propose a theory and method of measuring economic 2. The overview of theoretical informatization, which lay the foundation for informatics the quantitative research on informatization The research object of theoretical development 5 . Compared with developed informatics is information and information countries, the informatization construction in energy of general meaning, its research our country started late. It just began at the content is the regulation in cosmos which middle of 1980s to do the research on the function in the whole information theory of informatization and the method of phenomenon, its research method is the measuring its development. procedure and the rule which can From comparison of informatization universally apply in all kinds of information research between China and the United processes, its research target is to establish 3 Li Zong-rong. (2004). The Concepts, Principles and public theoretical foundation for domain Methodology of Theoretical Informatics．Medical Information, 17(12): 783. informatics to lay foundation for the whole 4 Li Zong-rong, Chen Ze-sheng, Ren Gong-yue Etc. information science and also provide science (1991). Introduction to Medical Information．Wuhan： Wuhan University Press, 4. 5 Wang Ai-lan. (2004). Exploration of How to Perfect 2 Yan Xue-shan. (1999). Some Viewpoints on the the Measurement Index System of National Development of Information Science in the 21st Informatization Level．Theoretical Exploration, (5): Century．Science and Technology Review, (8):3-6. 484-487.

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States, it can be seen that we must seize its information science. Since 1920s, the connotation in two aspects for the knowledge system concerning information informatization construction of a country. has developed quickly, which is called One is the specific process of informatization; communication theory or information theory. second is its idealistic process. There is no a At the beginning the foundation concerning good idealistic guidelines on informatization, this knowledge system is considered to be there is no an efficient process of mathematics theory concerning informatization. The informatization to the communication. As a result, some scholars idea is subject to the development of concentrate on expanding Shannon theory theoretical informatics. So “National in order to build up generalized informatics, Informatization” requires theoretical or even that of information science. informatics. Afterwards, the computer science and technology are developing prosperously and 3.3 It needs theoretical informatics to widely used. People think that the computer transfer industrial society to an can handle the whole information problems information society omnipotent, and then they rename computer

In a certain sense, the stage transition science to information science. The from the industrial society to an information computer is considered to be calculator tool society in broadly can be divided into three and thinking model, which is applied to basic stages: economic restructuring, natural science and social science, urging scientific transition and philosophy transition. the born of a large number of domain In the daily work, study and life, we easily informatics. At the time, theoretical computer realize that something we feel but can't academics is certainly the foundation of immediately comprehend. Computer culture information science. So computer medical becomes the basis of modern human application can be considered to be the civilization. Information products and crossed research between information information services are indispensable to us. science and medical science and so on. No matter when and where the After putting forward the establishment of contemporary people go, they will talk of Unified Theory of Information（UTI，Unified information. We need the unified theory on Theory of Information） in 1994, the scholars the information phenomenon of the universe finally can distinct problems of individuality to further understand of natural and society; and commonness, thinking that the we need theoretical informatics to adapt to communication, control and calculations of the transition from the industrial society to an information all belong to artificial information information society. process, which can't cover natural information phenomenon and life information 4. The engenderer of theoretical phenomenon obviously. Just at this time, the informatics basic research of information knowledge system promotes to a new level of Generally speaking, theoretical Theoretical Informatics. informatics is the basic part of total

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5. The status of theoretical developed by Shannon. It together with informatics cybernetics developed by Wiener affected

A great majority of information science many disciplines newly developed after the researchers in the domestic and middle of twentieth century. In fact, Shannon international didn’t think the theoretical didn’t declare that a sort of information construction of information science had theory had been founded. On the contrarily, been already completed. On the contrary, a Shannon himself thought of the foundation widespread viewpoint is that the research on of communication theory (that is to say the the foundation theories of information information transmission theory) as his 8 science or the theoretical informatics has contribution . Shannon’s famous work is The just started. 6 , 7 There is never a national Mathematic Theory on Communication. The convention on the subject of the foundation techniques applied in his study and theories of information science and there are description is physical and mathematical only 3 times international meetings of small methods. Generally speaking, the existence scales. From the above discussion, we can and movement of information at least see that domain informatics, such as the includes the processes of apperceive, communication informatics, the computer recognizing, attainment, description, informatics, the library informatics, the measurement, storage, transformation, bioinformatics and the medical informatics, transmission, exchange, regeneration and which had already progressed to own a controlling of information. For the physical flourishing information technology, abundant transport mediums, there is no need to information product and prosperous consider the content and utility of information. information market didn’t have theoretical It only needs us to concentrate on the foundation. analog signals and digital signals on the physical transmission medium, just as the 6. The limitation of present process of the ground layer (physical layer) information theory in the ISO/OSI protocol 9 . Information transmission theory is just a part of 6.1 The application ranges of Shannon information theory. Regarding Shannon communication theory communication theory as information theory Based on the viewpoint of information is as wrong as regarding algebra as science, the eye-catcher of communication mathematics. It is almost impossible to science theory in the past is the statistical generalize Shannon’s theory to other types theory of information transmission of information processes, so is applying mechanically the physical and mathematical methods in the information processes. 6 T．Stonier. (1997). Information and Meaning—— an Evolutionary Perspective．Gateshead (UK): Springeer, Basically because of the continuative use of 219. 7 Li Zong-rong, Tian Ai-jing. (2002). Problems in the 8 Research of the Foundation of Information Science: T．Stonier. (1997). Information and the Internal Some Comments on Some Viewpoints about the Structure of the Universe： An Exploration into Development of Information Science during the Information Physics．UK: Springer, 13. Beginning of 21st Century. Science and Technology 9 Xie Xi-ren. (2003). Computer Network. Beijing: Review, (4): 3– 6. Publishing House of Electronics Industry, 14.

CC: Creative Commons License, 2008. tripleC i(i): pp-pp, year 5 reductionism mode in material science, characters of discreteness and formulation there is nearly no notable progress in the of artificial compute, the nondiscretization information science constructed on the and nonformalization of the compute is Shannon theory since half a century before. impossible. But there are great amount of The wrong ideology leads to the nondiscrete and nonformal processes disagreements of generalized informatics existing in nature, biology and human and truly information science on the aspects society, which still can not be simulated and of concepts, principles and methods. replaced by computer. If all the processes In fact, Shannon himself was worried were regarded as “compute” (generalized about that informatics is becoming the most compute), the objects computed by popular discipline and unusually flourishing. computer are still very limited. Set the brain In 1956, he indicated that the essence of computing process as an example, there are informatics is a branch of mathematics and it a great amount of nonnumerical and alogical has rigorous deductive system; meanwhile, information processes, (such as synthesis its results aim at some very special and conclusion; intuition and inspiration) problems. “Exaggerating informatics and except the numerical and symbolic paying too much attention to it will induce a processes. Apparently, the development of kind of risk”. “Once people realized just theoretical computer science relies on the some appealing wordings, such as establishment of theoretical informatics. The information, entropy and redundancy, can reason is theoretical informatics not only not resolve all the problems, they will be studies on the artificial information disappointed and the man-made flourish will phenomenon but also the information break down over one night”. Originally, phenomenon in nature, biology and human information of different fields is concrete and society and it is more generalized and easy to manipulate. universal information theory. Computer, as the core of artificial information system, 6.2 Computer technology and facilities: successfully simulates the symbolic process discretization and formalization of human thought and catches the essential

If computer science was classified into characters of natural information processes, theoretical computer science and applied so the theoretical computer scientists can computer science, the former is about the act a special role in the foundation of general theory of man-made tools (computer), and information theory. the latter is about the computer technology 6.3 The limitation of Domain Informatics and its application in different fields. Calculability, computational model, 6.3.1 Domain Informatics in natural computational complexity, modal language science and auto-machine are all the basis of computer science. No discretization or Communication Science and Compute formalization, there will be no the invention Science both belong to special tool of computer, and just because of the two informatics, which is about artificial

CC: Creative Commons License, 2008. 6 Gao Hong information phenomenon. Their theory can extract information movement laws. In other not directly act as the contents of Theoretical words, although some disciplines of Literate Informatics, not to mention as the whole of Humaniores and Social Science indeed Information Science. But they are tool uncover some intrinsic of social information disciplines of other Domain Informatics, so phenomenon, they don’t use the concepts the concepts and principles included in the and methods of informatics, so it is lack of two disciplines have some general universalities. adaptability. Other domain informatics, such as 7. Home and abroad research on Quantum Informatics, Bioinformatics, theoretical informatics Medical Informatics, Management 7.1 United States and Europe unified Informatics, Economical Informatics and information theory research Ethnology, is a kind of knowledge system which just plays relevant roles in some At the international level, the special fields. They can not resolve the corresponding theoretical informatics general problems about information research has several different names: Unity phenomenon, not to mention the philosophy Information Theory (UTI), general ontological problems of Informatics. So there information, etc. Its purpose is to unify all is a despairing need to establish a new domain informatics (such as economic discipline called “Theoretical Informatics”, informatics, management informatics, and then the entire informatics knowledge bioinformatics, medical informatics, cultural system can be formed. informatics, etc.) and build up a widespread used information concept, principle and 6.3.2 Domain Informatics in Literate method. There are a number of international Humaniores and Social Science magazines entitled Information Science, but

Literate Humaniores studies human it is difficult to find a paper in which the thought, culture, value and spirit, and it information science discussed as a subject includes literature, history, linguistics, or subjects. The contents in which are philosophy, religion, archaeology, art, music, basically placed in the layer of domain dance, drama, etc. Social Science studies informatics, such as International Journal of the relationship among the human, and it Medical Informatics. A small amount of includes economics, politics, sociology, law, journals about Philosophy information anthropology, management, psychology, considers on the information theory, but demology, etc. In some sense, the whole of usually lack the background and scientific Literate Humaniores and Social Science is a basis of domain informatics. group of disciplines of Informatics. Among all The scholars of the international the disciplines, Tool Informatics is widely academic community who are interested in applied, but information concepts and the basis of information science held three methods are relatively rarely applied to times seminars in Madrid, Vienna and Paris observe information phenomenon and (1994, 1996, 2005), and two times Email

CC: Creative Commons License, 2008. tripleC i(i): pp-pp, year 7 pens to talk (2002). The purpose of the three information philosophy method, that can times international conference is to union lead to scientific innovation with those factions concerned with information methodological innovation. processing but widely distributed in many Domestic discussions on the information disciplines, launching interdisciplinary theory issues heat for a time from the 1980s studies. Their research mainly involved to the early 1990s. It mainly introduced three topics: (1) Methodological issues: overseas situation and explained it. The which philosophy and (or) formal scientific most influencing researchers include Zhou assumptions is the most suitable foundation Gui-ru, Miao Dong-sheng, Li Ming, Wu Kun, of the unified information theory? (2) Basic Feng Guo-rui, etc. In 2000, Peking theoretical issue: what is the origin of the University initiated and organized a series of information handles system in the realm of cross-information science seminars by Ma the inorganic matter, life and the society. Ai-nai, Feng Guo-rui and Yan Xue-shan. The What is the uniqueness of its structure? How participants include experts from main common link with particularity? (3) The issue institutions of higher education in Beijing, of the practical application: In order to and scholars from Hubei, Hong Kong and resolve issues the mankind facing in the Taiwan. economic, political, cultural, environmental Professor Li Zong-rong achieved fruitful and others in the information society, what harvest in the theoretical informatics. Li can be concluded from these theoretical Zong-rong transferred from computer understanding to guide the practice10? software engineering to the combination of computer science, medicine and biology in 7.2 Chinese scholars conduct basic 1987. During the three-year study in the research in information science United States, he entered into the realm of

Despite Chinese information technology management, psychology and philosophy and products were behind Western from computers and artificial intelligence. developed countries, but at the aspect of the Under the guidance of Professor J. Beane, generalization and theory refining of the he accessed the understanding of the domain informatics, now we keep ahead. essence and laws of information, and the Because the basic material used as a higher academic front of Ontological philosophy. level synthesis is the same, and our Since 2002, under the leadership and research is mainly large-span compositing support of Zhang Yong-chuan, Wang Cheng, the facts of evolution of material and Zhou Jian-zhong and Lian Xiao-hu from information along the evolutionary chain; Institute of Systems Science in Huazhong meanwhile, achieving inter-level synthesis University of Science and Technology, he among the level of applied informatics held a series of reports on theoretical method，theoretical informatics method and informatics, and undertaking three report tasks. Li Zong-rong had completed his

10 W．Hofkirchner. (1999). the Quest of the Second doctoral thesis about Theoretical Informatics: International Conference on the Foundations of Concepts, Principles and Methodology. It Information Science. Amsterdam：Gordon and Breach Publishers, 1-5.

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was published in series in magazine Medical research of theoretical informatics is still in Information in 2004. the initial stage. A large number of researchers are still under the shackles of 8. Conclusions physical scientific paradigms. There is no breakthrough in physical scientific As mentioned earlier, the development paradigms; there is no development of of domain informatics such as theoretical informatics. bioinformatics ， need theoretical support from theoretical informatics. However, the

References

[1] Zhang Shun-yan. (2003). the Sources and Flow of Mathematics．Beijing：Higher Education Press.

[2] Yan Xue-shan. (1999). Some Viewpoints on the Development of Information Science in the 21st Century．Science

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[3] Li Zong-rong. (2004). the Concepts, Principles and Methodology of Theoretical Informatics．Medical Information,

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[4] Li Zong-rong, Chen Ze-sheng, Ren Gong-yue Etc. (1991). Introduction to Medical Information．Wuhan：Wuhan

University Press, 4.

[5] Wang Ai-lan. (2004). Exploration of How to Perfect the Measurement Index System of National Informatization

Level．Theoretical Exploration,(5), 484-487.

[6] T．Stonier. (1997). Information and Meaning—— an Evolutionary Perspective．Gateshead (UK): Springeer, 219.

[7] Li Zong-rong, Tian Ai-jing. (2002). Problems in the Research of the Foundation of Information Science: Some

Comments on Some Viewpoints about the Development of Information Science during the Beginning of 21st

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[10] W．Hofkirchner. (1999). the Quest of the Second International Conference on the Foundations of Information

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About the author

Duan Zhan-qi

a second-year graduate student of Huazhong University of Science and Technology of China.

Address for correspondence： Medical information department, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan, Hubei 430030 People’s Republic of China

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E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (86) 027-83692526

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