Information versus pattern

Before finishing this chapter, which aims to arm you with all the necessary definitions and concepts needed for data preprocessing, we need to cover two more concepts: information and pattern.

Understanding everyday use of the word "information"

First, I need to bring your attention to two specific and yet very different functions of the term information. The first one is the everyday use of "information," which means "facts or details about somebody or something." This is how the Oxford English Dictionary defines information. However, while statisticians also employ this function of the word, sometimes the term information serves another purpose.

Statistical use of the word "information"

The term "information" could also refer to the value variation of one attribute across the population of a data object. In other words, information is used to refer to what an attribute adds to space knowledge...