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102 John Pierce: An Introduction to Information Theory

This book introduces the principles of information theory that have revolutionized the understanding of communication systems.

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John Pierce: An Introduction to Information Theory

Summary

"An Introduction to Information Theory" by John R. Pierce is an accessible and comprehensive guide to the principles and applications of information theory. The book explains the basic concepts of information theory in a clear and concise manner, covering topics such as entropy, information sources, coding theory, and communication systems. Pierce also delves into more advanced topics, such as channel capacity, error-correcting codes, and data compression. The book provides a historical perspective on the development of information theory and its implications for modern communication systems. It is a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the principles of information theory and their applications in today's digital age.

About

Title: An Introduction to Information Theory

Author: John R. Pierce

Publishing Year: 2019

Publisher: Dover Publications

Length in Hours: 10 hours and 12 minutes

5 main ideas

  1. Information theory is the study of how information is transmitted and received, and how it can be measured and quantified.
  2. Entropy is a measure of the uncertainty or randomness of a system, and is a key concept in information theory.
  3. Coding theory involves the design and analysis of codes that can be used to transmit information efficiently and reliably over a communication channel.
  4. Communication systems use various techniques, such as modulation and demodulation, to transmit and receive information over a channel.
  5. Information theory has had a profound impact on modern communication systems, including digital data transmission, mobile communications, and the internet.
John Pierce: An Introduction to Information Theory

5 funny quotes

  1. "The problem with information theory is that it's often very theoretical."
  2. "Information theory: when you want to communicate as efficiently as possible, but still have to use emojis to convey tone."
  3. "I've got 99 problems, but information theory ain't one."
  4. "Information theory: because sometimes words just aren't enough."
  5. "Information theory: where the only thing more complex than the equations are the explanations."

5 thought-provoking quotes​

  1. "Information is a measure of one's freedom of choice when one selects a message."
  2. "Information theory is the study of how information can be communicated most efficiently from one place to another."
  3. "The measure of information is related to the measure of entropy; the greater the entropy, the greater the information contained."
  4. "Information theory has had a major impact on the design and analysis of communication systems."
  5. "Information theory provides a mathematical framework for analyzing the limits of communication systems."

5 dilemmas

  1. Balancing efficiency and accuracy in communication systems
  2. The trade-off between transmission rate and error rate
  3. The limits of compression: how small can a message be without losing important information?
  4. The challenge of designing communication systems that can adapt to changing conditions
  5. The ethical considerations of information theory, such as privacy and surveillance.

5 examples

  1. Shannon's source coding theorem
  2. Huffman coding
  3. Hamming codes
  4. Reed-Solomon codes
  5. Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) algorithm

Referenced books

  1. "Communication Networks: Fundamental Concepts and Key Architectures" by Alberto Leon-Garcia and Indra Widjaja
  2. "Coding and Information Theory" by Steven Roman
  3. "Elements of Information Theory" by Thomas M. Cover and Joy A. Thomas
  4. "Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms" by David MacKay
  5. "Network Information Theory" by Abbas El Gamal and Young-Han Kim

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"Information theory: where the only thing more complex than the equations are the explanations."

John Pierce: An Introduction to Information Theory

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