Negative information

In the case of a large bias, the second term of Eq. (9.19) can exceed the first one and so the information content formally would become negative. Although this could be interpreted as misinformation, negative information contents are unusual in information theory itself. For this reason, Eckschlager and Stepanek [1985] introduced... 

Negative information content occurs if a significantly inaccurate measuring result appears. This has more serious consequences the more precise the measured result is (see Fig. 9.6)... 

Ions or molecules flowing down their concentration gradients is one aspect of a very general statement known as the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The Second Law is a mathematical statement to the effect that all real processes increase the disorder, captured in a quantity known as entropy, of the universe. Entropy is a measure of disorder or randomness and may be thought of as negative information. 

A quick way to check for opinions is to Google the author. Simply put his or her name (or the name of the group if there is no individual author) in the search box in quotes. The results can be revealing. However, remember to read them with a critical eye. If you are searching for someone with a radical or controversial view, you ll probably find detractors. A handful shouldn t deter you, but pages of negative information might. 

You have negative information in your employment history. 

People pursuing jobs in the 30,000 to 40,000 salary range are typically the group with negative information in their employment history that needs to be dealt with effectively in a resume. When someone has negative information or a lack of work experience, I tend to focus on creating a skill-based resume. 

Never apologize for negative information regarding your past. Avoid talking down to an interviewer, or making them feel less intelligent than you. 

Contain absolutely no grammatical or spelling errors Incorporate no negative information Include only information that s directly of interest to an employer... 

Siegrist, M., and G. Cvetkovich. 2001. Better negative than positive Evidence of a bias for negative information about possible health dangers. Risk Anal. 21(l) 199-206. 

Literature shows no positive or negative information on safety... 

Publicity is nonpersonal information about a product or organization that is not paid for by the organization. Because publicity is not paid for by a pharmacy, it can contain positive information or negative information. That is, the control of the message in publicity is much less than with advertising. However, publicity typically is viewed as more credible that advertising. Calling a local news medium (e.g., TV or radio station or a newspaper) about a special event or achievement by the pharmacy can stimulate publicity. Table 21-6... 

STIRS Prediction of Substructures Not Present. CONGEN can utilize a BADLIST of features known not to be present in the molecule. Negative information is more difficult to determine from an unknown mass spectrum because other parts of the molecule may suppress a fragmentation reaction characteristic of a specific function. However, this is less true of substructures such as amino which strongly influence ion decomposition pathways. Thus it might be useful to carry out an evaluation of the ability of STIRS to identify the absence of specific substructures in the same way used to find the 589 substructures whose presence is best found by STIRS (8). 

Negative information is that which, immediately upon acquiring, causes the recipient to know less than he did before. 

M. Seigrist and G. Cvertkovich, Better Negative than Positive Evidence of a Bias for Negative Information about Possible Health Dangers, Risk Analysis, 2001, 21, 199. 

In contrast, with a well-designed HPLC assay for activity E-l, capable of separating A, B, and C, the levels of each may be obtained from an analysis of a single sample from the reaction mixture of both the crude and purified samples (panel III of Fig. 1.5). In fact, the data obtained provide information not only on what compounds are present but also on what are not. The availability of such negative information can provide the data leading to the exclusion of alternative explanations that had been proposed to explain unexpected results. 

Thus the uniqueness exists, the analysis in most cases feasible, and if a sufficient base of data from lead deposits of known ancient exploitation is obtained then the combinations may provide the archaeologist with vital information on the provenance of ancient objects. Even negative information may be important since it has been possible at times to state that it is unlikely that an object was made with materials from a particular area. 

If candidates are reluctant to provide you with references from a supervisor in a prior position, ask fhem to explain their reluctance and try to work through it with them. If fhey are afraid the supervisor will say something bad about them, ask them to describe what they think the supervisor will say and why they think the supervisor will say it. Sometimes supervisors say discouraging things, even about good employees. If there are problems in an employment relationship, the problems are sometimes with the boss and not with the employee. And sometimes there is legitimate negative information that the candidate would rather you not hear. 

Evaluate negative information with caution Even if you receive negative information during a reference check, do nof immediately rule out the candidate. Attempt to understand every angle of the circumstances that caused the problem. Try to get confirming or refuting information from other somces. However, if it appears that the negative information is supported by relevant facts, and if you get similar responses from several references, you may choose not to consider the candidate further. 

Properties are really just descriptions of materials what they look like, feel like, how they behave, etc. Notice that some are negative - gold is not attacked by dilute acid . In science, negative information is often just as important as positive. 

From such quantitative considerations we learn that life seems to reverse that process of disorder, at least a bit and at least locally. This is an important concept because it reveals an essence of health and healthcare, since without that constant reversal, we have disruption, disease, and ultimately death. We do know from modern thermodynamics that entropy is negative information, meaning that if the information in a system—such as us—goes up, the entropy goes down. 

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