Does the definition of information matter in the long run? I think, yes. When we are discussing information in a classroom setting, we aren’t much interested in the noise factor that interested Claude Shannon. We are interested in all the information that gets shared, whether it be classified as noise or not. We aren’t interested in removing that feature.
A look at everyday life information sharing can provide an example (See Hartel 2010 for more information about everyday life information). When I am sharing knitting information with my online knitting buddies, there is noise. There can only be so many times one can hear “stockinette stitch curls” before you can’t hear it anymore. It is noise…to me and many others…but not to everyone. For Shannon, noise was disruptive, in the social cultural world, noise still has meaning, just not to everyone. It is contextual. And that is why we care.
Hartel, J. (2010). Managing documents at home for serious leisure: A case study of the hobby of gourmet cooking. Journal of Documentation, 66(6), 847–874. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220411011087841
Art of Information 