Imperfect data and human interpretation: states of information, semantic layers, imperfection and worked cases

Supplementary material to the paper: Freriks G, Rossi Mori A. "Isolated Data Do Not Become Information: Preserving Context at the Source for the European Health Data Space". Medical Informatics Europe (MIE) 2027, submitted. (reference [6] of the paper). This compact document (14 pages) gives the framework behind the paper's four claims: data are imperfect by nature for whoever uses them; information arises from a suitable ensemble of data interpreted for a purpose; such ensembles depend on context at three levels (micro, meso, macro); data quality at the source should therefore mean preserving the links among data in their original context, with no extra burden for anyone. It covers the states of information (solid, liquid, gaseous; apparent and false solids), the semantic layers, the metamorphosis cycle and the six types of imperfection, context at the source, two worked cases and a short glossary, and maps each section of the paper to the place where it is developed. Related records: the extended treatment of context and the EHDS (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23926088, reference [13] of the paper) and the complete series "Information metamorphosis explained in full" with its annotated bibliography (doi:10.5281/zenodo.23926090, reference [14]). The documents are working texts meant to open a discussion, not to settle it. They were written by the authors with the support of Claude (Anthropic) through an approach of augmented reasoning: the sources used are made explicit, unverified statements are flagged, and the most significant statements carry a reliability marker ({T} full convergence of independent sources, {P} partial convergence, {L} insufficient or non-independent sources, {I} inference from general knowledge). The persons in the cases are constructed teaching cases, not real patients. Each document is provided as PDF and as editable DOCX.