Information vs. Formation — What's the Difference?

Processed data that is organized for a specific purpose or decision-making.

The natural process of creating rock or land formations.

The content conveyed in conversations, texts, or media.

The development of social or cultural structures.

Knowledge imparted or acquired through study or experience.

How a company or institution is organized.

The basis for software operations, databases, and communications.

The arrangement or positioning of players in a team.

Data analyzed to guide choices in business or personal life.

A specific arrangement of troops or equipment.

Information can be thought of as the resolution of uncertainty; it answers the question of "What an entity is" and thus defines both its essence and the nature of its characteristics. The concept of information has different meanings in different contexts.

The act or process of forming something or of taking form.

Knowledge or facts learned, especially about a certain subject or event.

Something formed

The act of informing or the condition of being informed; communication of knowledge

The manner or style in which something is formed; structure

(Computers) Processed, stored, or transmitted data.

A specified arrangement or deployment, as of aircraft, troops, or players on a sports team.

A numerical measure of the uncertainty of an experimental outcome.

(Geology) A primary unit in the mapping of rock strata, consisting of a set of contemporaneous rocks having the same characteristics and origin.

(Law) A formal accusation of a crime made by a public officer rather than by grand jury indictment in instances in which the offense, if a federal crime, is not a felony or in which the offense, if a state crime, is allowed prosecution in that manner rather than by indictment.

The act of assembling a group or structure. 14

That which resolves uncertainty; anything that answers the question of "what a given entity is".

Something possessing structure or form. 17

Things that are or can be known about a given topic; communicable knowledge of something.

The process during which something comes into being and gains its characteristics. 18

The act of informing or imparting knowledge; notification.

(military) A grouping of military units or smaller formations under a command, such as a brigade, division, wing, etc. 18

A statement of criminal activity brought before a judge or magistrate; in the UK, used to inform a magistrate of an offence and request a warrant; in the US, an accusation brought before a judge without a grand jury indictment.

(geology) A layer of rock of common origin. 19

(obsolete) The act of informing against someone, passing on incriminating knowledge; accusation.

(sports) An arrangement of players designed to facilitate certain plays.

The systematic imparting of knowledge; education, training.

The process of influencing or guiding a person to a deeper understanding of a particular vocation.

The creation of form; the imparting of a given quality or characteristic; forming, animation.

(category theory) A structure made of two categories, two functors from the first to the second category, and a transformation from one of the functors to the other.

[…] the meaning that a human assigns to data by means of the known conventions used in its representation.

The act of giving form or shape to anything; a forming; a shaping.

(Christianity) Divine inspiration.

The manner in which a thing is formed; structure; construction; conformation; form; as, the peculiar formation of the heart.

A service provided by telephone which provides listed telephone numbers of a subscriber.

A substance formed or deposited.

(information theory) Any unambiguous abstract data, the smallest possible unit being the bit.

Mineral deposits and rock masses designated with reference to their origin; as, the siliceous formation about geysers; alluvial formations; marine formations.

As contrasted with data, information is processed to extract relevant data.

The arrangement of a body of troops, as in a square, column, etc.

(information technology) Any ordered sequence of symbols (or signals) (that could contain a message).

An arrangement of people or things acting as a unit;

The act of informing, or communicating knowledge or intelligence.

A particular spatial arrangement

Any fact or set of facts, knowledge, news, or advice, whether communicated by others or obtained by personal study and investigation; any datum that reduces uncertainty about the state of any part of the world; intelligence; knowledge derived from reading, observation, or instruction.

The fabrication of something in a particular shape

A proceeding in the nature of a prosecution for some offense against the government, instituted and prosecuted, really or nominally, by some authorized public officer on behalf of the government. It differs from an indictment in criminal cases chiefly in not being based on the finding of a grand jury. See Indictment.

The act of forming something;

A measure of the number of possible choices of messages contained in a symbol, signal, transmitted message, or other information-bearing object; it is usually quantified as the negative logarithm of the number of allowed symbols that could be contained in the message; for logarithms to the base 2, the measure corresponds to the unit of information, the hartley, which is log210, or 3.323 bits; called also information content. The smallest unit of information that can be contained or transmitted is the bit, corresponding to a yes-or-no decision.

(geology) the geological features of the earth

Useful facts, as contrasted with raw data; as, among all this data, there must be some interesting information.

Natural process that causes something to form;

A message received and understood

Creation by mental activity;

A collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn;

Knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction

(communication theory) a numerical measure of the uncertainty of an outcome;

Formal accusation of a crime

Information is data that has been processed and organized to be meaningful and useful.

Yes, information can change as new data becomes available or as situations evolve.

Formation processes shape landscapes, ecosystems, and the physical environment, influencing biodiversity and habitat.

It provides a basis for understanding situations, assessing options, and choosing the best course of action.

A well-planned formation can enhance communication, decision-making, and task execution, leading to greater efficiency.

It determines the positioning and movement of forces, crucial for defense and offense.

As goals, technologies, and environments change, organizations may adjust their structures for optimal performance.

They reveal the Earth's history, climate changes, and geological processes.

Its accuracy, relevance, and timeliness contribute to its value for users.

Team formations can influence the dynamics of a game, affecting strategies, defense, and scoring opportunities.

If inaccurate, outdated, or presented out of context, information can lead to incorrect conclusions or decisions.

Through media, advertising, and social networks, information can influence perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors.

It helps analyze social structures, relationships, and the development of societies over time.

Yes, from the arrangement of furniture in a room to the organization of a community event.

Through databases, cloud storage, and networks, allowing for easy retrieval and analysis.