Outlines of informatics (Comments on P. Györe paper)

Abstract

Since the term "informatics" has widely spread to denote a specialialized branch of science dealing with the processes of scientific information, an ever increasing number of publications, treating the subject of informatics and its relation to othar fields, has appeared. Papers by János Szentmihályi (TMT, Vol. 15. No. 8-9. 1966. p. 597-621.) and P. Györe also belong to this category.
P. Györe identifies the process of scientific information with that of communication, and informatics with the general theory of communication.
Since - in his opinion - Man or human personality is the essential subject of the latter, he insists that the same applies to informatics.
Scientific information may be considered as a feature of communication which, in the course of the social division of labour, became detached from the procees of scientific communication; the latter, in turn, had previously separated from the general process of communication. Its regularities may only be defined by examining this historically developed special process.
The process is not identical with the process-carrier, similarly, the process of communication is not identical with Man. The study of the human "performers" of scientific information is one important but by far not the only task of informatics. In the circumstances, what it has to examine is, as a rule, neither Man nor personality, but those "performers" of the process of scientific information that can be described socially.
This concept of informatics does not mean that it has to be restricted to more technicalities. The one-sided consideration of technical problems and that of abstract human factors, separated from their environment, are equally to be avoided. Besides, it would be feasible if creative thinking in this field changed from the terminological and thematic debates to actual research work.