It can be observed that the essential function of information in nature is to control and thereby operate the organisation of life. Such organisation is recursively defined so that it refers to the operations of life at every scale, microscopic organisms, vital organs, animals, social groups of animals including commercial firms, interdependent species, and the entire biosphere. It follows that the natural structure and behaviour of sets of symbols used to represent information are characterised by the interplay of recursively defined order and intrinsic disorder arising from physical uncertainty in the behaviour of very small objects in the control mechanisms of life. Recognition and acceptance of such features of the nature of information offers useful guidance to information system designers in their selection of strategic objectives, e.g. to reduce the hazards of program development by minimising the gross multiplicity of details that must be correct for a program to operate as intended.