A Short Essay on the Word "Informatics"

 What could be more bracing than the vigorous examination of the semantics of one's academic field!  It forces one to test long-held assumptions, to step back and take in the broad sweep of the intellectual landscape, to avoid further exposing onself to direct sunlight...

 It has become commonplace for periodic debates to occur in medical informatics circles on whether the proper term for this academic field should be "medical informatics," "health informatics, "healthcare informatics," etc.  But while the first word of this two-word phrase undergoes ill-deserved (and pointless) scrutiny, the word "INFORMATICS" enjoys the linguistic equivalent of lounging in bed and eating bonbons.  It's high time for it to be rousted from its usurped life of ease and sent packing.

 The word "information" is derived from the Latin informare, "to shape or give form to." In fact, that was the original meaning of the English verb "to inform," and only later did come to mean "to give form to the mind of another person" in the sense of instructing or imparting knowledge.

 In any case, the original meaning of "information" is the act of informing, just as "creation" is the act of creating (as in, "the information of students is hampered by their poor grasp of semantics"). However, by common usage, "information" has come to denote that which is imparted in the act of informing (analogous to the sense of creation in "Lord of all creation," etc.).

 Very well, then. How does this guide us in naming the academic field concerned with information?

 First it should be shown that the word "informatics" is a linguistic goof that never should have been adopted. The suffix "-ic" dates back to ancient Greek and is a simple modifier conferring the meaning "in the manner of," hence "music," "magic," etc. In this context, the word "informatic" would have to have been built on the meaningless root "informat-." There is a precedent for -atic being used as a adjective-forming suffix (e.g. "aquatic"), which would seem to apply more convincingly in this case, except that the root would then be "informa-," which again describes the action of imparting information (rather than the information itself). Thus, literally speaking, "informatics" would describe all things communicatory. All about the medium; not about the message.

 To describe the study of information, what is left? I can think of nothing but those hoary twin suffixes, -logy and -science, which describe talking and knowing about something, respectively. Although modern-day academics might more justly be described by the former, it is even harder to say "informationology" with a straight face than "informatics." Therefore, we discover that the librarians were right all along--The best way to describe our field is "information science."

 As an aside, I think that "epistemology" is a perfectly good word that more or less fits the bill.  However, inasmuch as epistemology is defined as the study of knowledge, and many would draw a distinction between "knowledge" and "information," I doubt that would catch on.  However, I reserve the right to start calling myself a "medical epistemologist" if it suits me.

Eric Rose
November, 2003