A Sign on a Tree: A Case for “Public Knowledge”

Can information be objective and/or subjective? Based on Patrick Wilson’s notion of public knowledge and a story of a sign on a tree, this paper argues that private information is not the same as subjective information, and that the very communicative process of making information makes information objective. It also argues that the objective sense of information—public knowledge—has been and will be most relevant to information science, hence questions concerning collective responsibility in collecting, preserving, and organizing information shall be considered.