Definition
Intrinsic meaning, in Hofstadter's GEB Topic 6, is the property of a message whose meaning is recoverable from the message's structure by any sufficiently capable receiver, without prior agreement with the sender. The strongest examples are DNA (a sufficiently intelligent chemist could rediscover the genetic code from the molecules) and complex mathematical structures (a proof carries its argument in its text).
Why it matters
How it works
Test whether a message carries intrinsic meaning by asking: could a sufficiently capable receiver, with no prior contact with the sender, recover the meaning by studying the message? For DNA: yes — chemistry plus enough samples allows the genetic code to be inferred. For an arbitrary email in English: partly — the receiver needs the language conventions, but the structure of the message (subject, salutation, paragraphs) carries information. For a single button-press in a jukebox: no — the button by itself carries almost no information; the jukebox does the work.