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The “conduit metaphor” and the nature and politics of information studies

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  • Ronald E. Day

Abstract

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. This 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.

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  • Ronald E. Day, 2000. "The “conduit metaphor” and the nature and politics of information studies," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 51(9), pages 805-811.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamest:v:51:y:2000:i:9:p:805-811
    DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(2000)51:93.0.CO;2-C
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    Cited by:

    1. Brittany Brannon & Amy G. Buhler & Tara Tobin Cataldo & Ixchel M. Faniel & Lynn Silipigni Connaway & Joyce Kasman Valenza & Christopher Cyr, 2022. "Genre containers: Building a theoretical framework for studying formats in information behavior," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 73(4), pages 609-624, April.

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