3 ms·

I realise I'm only a s/w dev and probably not the target audience, but I stopped reading by the end of the first page. For a mini-introduction, it assumes a lot

by kitd 8y ago

I realise I'm only a s/w dev and probably not the target audience, but I stopped reading by the end of the first page. For a mini-introduction, it assumes a lot of mathematical skill.

improbable22 8y ago
The funny part is that this may also be the most approachable thing Witten has ever written. In case the name isn't familiar, he's a leading theoretical physicist (with a fields medal), and I'm sure this was his idea of taking a week's holiday. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Witten https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Witten
throwawaymath 8y ago
Unfortunately, information theory is not a topic that can be made accessible without several nontrivial prerequisites. This would normally constitute a graduate level topic - something to dig into after you've worked through the better part of a mathematics undergrad (particularly the upper level analysis/probability/algebra courses). Mathematics has a peculiar habit (to those outside the domain) to call things like this "introductions" - it's technically true, but unhelpful to those outside the target audience. Unless you dilute the topic to the point of unusability, this is basically what an introduction to the subject looks like. Still, it's a little hard for me to figure out what the target audience for this is. Grad students would probably want a focused textbook, so I'm guessing this is for undergrads who are only partially through the full prereqs, but who have a lot of interest in it.
- improbable22 8y ago
  Footnote 1 explains "The article is based on a lecture at the 2018 summer program Prospects in Theoretical Physics", which is a 2-week school for grad students, most of whom would not be working on exactly this.
- kitd 8y ago
  Yes, I was disappointed because the topic is fascinating in its abstract form, so from the title I was hoping for something a little more accessible. However it made me hunt around for more appropriate sources and I found a few, so that at least is good.

by kitd 8y ago

I realise I'm only a s/w dev and probably not the target audience, but I stopped reading by the end of the first page. For a mini-introduction, it assumes a lot of mathematical skill.

improbable22 8y ago

The funny part is that this may also be the most approachable thing Witten has ever written. In case the name isn't familiar, he's a leading theoretical physicist (with a fields medal), and I'm sure this was his idea of taking a week's holiday. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Witten https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Witten

throwawaymath 8y ago

Unfortunately, information theory is not a topic that can be made accessible without several nontrivial prerequisites. This would normally constitute a graduate level topic - something to dig into after you've worked through the better part of a mathematics undergrad (particularly the upper level analysis/probability/algebra courses). Mathematics has a peculiar habit (to those outside the domain) to call things like this "introductions" - it's technically true, but unhelpful to those outside the target audience. Unless you dilute the topic to the point of unusability, this is basically what an introduction to the subject looks like. Still, it's a little hard for me to figure out what the target audience for this is. Grad students would probably want a focused textbook, so I'm guessing this is for undergrads who are only partially through the full prereqs, but who have a lot of interest in it.

improbable22 8y ago
Footnote 1 explains "The article is based on a lecture at the 2018 summer program Prospects in Theoretical Physics", which is a 2-week school for grad students, most of whom would not be working on exactly this.
kitd 8y ago
Yes, I was disappointed because the topic is fascinating in its abstract form, so from the title I was hoping for something a little more accessible. However it made me hunt around for more appropriate sources and I found a few, so that at least is good.