# A Dialogue Concerning the Essence and Role of Information in the World System
## 2 The Dialogue
According to spatial orientation, there are three types of measures of information: _external_, _intermediate_, and _internal_. This principle reflects the orientation of changes caused or prevented by information. **Axiological Principle A4 (the _Determinacy Principle_). With respect to how the measure is determined and evaluated, there are three constructive types of measures of information: _abstract_, _grounded_, and _experimental_. This principle reflects the application area of the measure. **Axiological Principle A5 (the _Totality Principle_). With respect to information relations, there are three constructive types of measures of information: _absolute_, _fixed relative_, and _variable relative_. This principle reflects the relativity of measurement. **Axiological Principle A6 (the _Scaling Principle_). ** According to the scale of measurement, there are two groups, each of which contains three types of measures of information: (1) qualitative measures, which are divided into descriptive, operational, and representational measures, and (2) quantitative measures, which are divided into _numerical_, _comparative_, and _splitting_ measures. This principle reflects possible types of measurement scales. **Axiological Principle A7 (the _Communication Principle_)**. The measure of information transmission from a carrier \(C\) to a system \(R\) reflects a relation (such as ratio or difference) between measures of information that is accepted by the system \(R\) in the process of transmission and information that is presented by \(C\) in the same process. This principle reflects the acceptability properties of information transmission. **J**: To make the picture complete, do you need to describe the mathematical core of the GTI? **M**: The mathematical core of the GTI is the mathematical theory based on the principles of the GTI. Now, there are three approaches to the construction of this theory: algebraic, functional, and categorical approaches. Each of them provides efficient mathematical models. As a result, there are three types of models of information dynamics: information algebras, operator models based on functional analysis, and operator models based on category theory. Functional representations of information dynamics preserve internal structures of information spaces associated with infological systems as their state or phase spaces [11; 13; 19]. The categorical image of information dynamics displays external structures of information spaces associated with infological systems [12; 14]. An algebraic portrayal of information dynamics maintains intermediate structures of information spaces [11]. These models allow researchers to discover intrinsic properties of information. In addition to its own mathematical information theories, the mathematical core of the GTI includes other information theories, such as [PERSON]'s communication theory [42], quantum information theory [27] or the semantic information theory of [PERSON] [51], as well as its special sub-theories. **J**: Now only the third component of the GTI needs to be specified, i.e., the functional hull. **M**: The functional hull of the GTI consists of methods, measures, and algorithms that allow obtaining properties of information used by people as well as developing more powerful and reliable information processing systems. **J**: All said, I would like to know whether your theory is only a beautiful abstract edifice far from life of people or if it solves some theoretical and practical problems that other information theories were not able to solve. **M**: The general theory of information solves several fundamental problems, which are urgent and may be even vital for people because we live in the information age and information has come to the forefront of society and individuals in all countries and all walks of life. Although many information theories have been created, none of them have been able to solve those problems. Here, we consider only three of those problems.