Defining Information: If information were a person what would he/she look like? Describe physical traits, actions, and personality. (SLIS 701 Spring 2015)
As many superhero movies, television shows, and literature exist in our current universe, I am actually surprised there hasn’t been a devoted character to the embodiment of information. Now certainly, characters such as Star Trek: Next Generation’s Data, Marvel’s The Leader, and even Disney Pocahontas’s Grandmother Willow have embodied the wisdom of one endowed with great knowledge, but no well-known creation for the manifestation of information itself. I imagine this is because information is more like a fluid stream that both influences and is influenced by humanity. Is Information, then, even limited to what humans actually know? Or is Information only ever half-seen as still more is left to be discovered, unearthed, or otherwise happened upon? Here are my thoughts on if information were to be personified.
Firstly, upon reading this assignment, my science-fiction and fantasy-loving self knew this was the only option I could explore. My first step was to search out what my peers, students, and other individuals around me thought about this character, Information. Many responded in the stereotypical “librarian” personas: either the up-tight, cruel grandmotherly sort or the fierce, quiet but sexy librarian image so often objectified in modern media. (The whole “closet-freak” idea.) (Also, see this resource on deconstructing that stereotype.)
Others really thought about the vastness of information, especially focusing on its embodiment of children. Now there’s an interesting concept: children, the least informed of our world (based on experience) and yet, the first thought of many when it comes to picturing information. Some respondents talked of the energy of children, as one peer said like a “hyperactive genius child who just ate too much sugar.” I wholeheartedly believe that Information, as a character, must have the boundless energy as that small child. Others talked about the reflection of childhood, “always thinking, asking questions and dissecting everything.” Now this, too, hits a key aspect of questions, pondering, and seeking answers as a critical nature of Information. In addition, one of my peers immediately responded “Technicolor Jesus!” I feel that her answer is indeed poignant for defining our character, Information. Our culture and multitudes of cultures before us have asserted the mantra “Knowledge is Power.” This must also mean that Information is like a deity in the power of amassing that information. With this godlike thought, others were more influenced by the ethereal nature of Information: its transience, its intangibility, its flow from one form to another. Many recalled characters of video games or films that exist as holograms, such as Cortana from the Halo series and Android voice system and vague humanoid shapes formed of binary code (think Matrix Dissected). These individuals have hit on the key idea of information as an ever-changing entity, or at least a mass that constantly evolves, grows, shifts, and reacts to the world around it. If Information were static, our pursuit of higher education and higher knowledge would certainly be moot!
After reaching my friends, colleagues, and peers, my first reaction was a mix of shock, pleasure, and humility at the thoughtful and creative responses they had. Closely following, my limited and non-formulaic survey of people’s thoughts of Information generally concurred. Even before asking around, I thought (and still think) that Information must be a shapeshifter, in the sense that the ancient Greek gods could manipulate their appearance and presence befitting the situation. Though my primitive survey forced me to think about the intangible nature of Information; how despite its prevalence and influence, information is not fastened down to anchors or etched in stone. Information also must be able to share in transactions with people, both sharing knowledge and augmenting Information with new discoveries and revelations.
Therefore, if Information was a character, it would not be male nor female. Information would be made of stardust and generally spend its time in incoherent drifts that focused in schools, libraries, places of worship, meditative gardens, and gently lingering in the spaces before your eyes. Just as any good Hero’s Journey requires, those seeking Information must travel the journey and respond to the call to want Information and need its guidance. At that time, like deities of the British pagans, the spirits of the Native Americans, or the witches of mysticism, Information could materialize to the “Pure of Heart.” Likewise, Information would have a calm tone of voice, regardless of the mouth it materialized. I cannot help but imagine Planet Earth’s Sigourney Weaver as the asexual voice of Information, feminine, yet deep enough to comfort and impart weight. I don’t imagine Information’s personality fluctuates as it must keep constant its essential being as its specifics and manifestations perpetually change. I have now forgotten the book, but I once read a character that was cursed with empathy when she was born. The curse-giver had thought empathy would be a gift that united warring kingdoms, but instead aged the child unnaturally rapidly as she experienced so much of the world’s burdens and struggles. I wish I could recall the author, but I so clearly recall the description of her eyes as larger, darker, and more hollow than a child’s should be. I imagine that same darkness and depth in the eyes of Information, perhaps from sadness, but perhaps also from the multitudes of wonders in our world.
