Communication Defined as Complementary Informative Processes

Given a set of requirements for a definition of communication, we can define a communication as information that enters a process and eventually leaves its inverse process. For example, information is transmitted by speaking and received after processing by its inverse, hearing. This definition can be used to precisely describe and explain communication phenomena in an inclusive and exact manner. The nature of processes and their development is considered. Communication processes may support other processes, including non-communicative, evolutionarily adaptive processes supporting survival and reproduction. Communication is expected to develop in selforganizing systems, given certain assumptions. Receiving processes may be understood as information filters and their performance described, predicted, and understood. These precise definitions of communication and information can serve as the basis for a science of librarianship. The author wishes to thank Diane Sonnenwald and the members of her Communication Seminar for valuable comments on the ideas presented here, as well as Elfreda Chatman for conversations about defining information.