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Mathematical Theory of Claude Shannon [pdf]

• caffeine 17y ago
  What?! There's no math! http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/ms/what/shannonday/shannon1948.pdf http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/ms/what/shannonday/shannon1948.pd... That's more like it, no?
  • jonsen 17y ago
    I think no. Subtitle: A study of the style and context of his work
  • Rod 17y ago
    Well, the subtitle of the submitted article is "a study of the style and context of his work up to the genesis of information theory". Shannon did a lot of amazing work before the seminal 1948 paper. As an example, here are his M.Sc. and Ph.D. thesis: A symbolic analysis of relay and switching circuits: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/11173 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/11173 An algebra for theoretical genetics: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/11174 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/11174 Shannon was quite a unique thinker. I would dare to say that very few people had such tremendous impact on the world via abstract thinking. He single-handedly enabled the digital revolution. And though a lot is known about his contributions, less is known about his personality, interests and style. Thus, I believe the submitted article is indeed quite an interesting read, despite the fact that it's not about the mathematical theory of communication.
    • caffeine 17y ago
      Oh, I agree with you wholeheartedly (except for the single-handedly part; many people had a hand in it). But the title of your post says "Mathematical Theory of Claude Shannon." And there's no math. Even though it is relevant and interesting, it's mis-labelled.
      • jonsen 17y ago
        English not being my first language I may be prone to if not false then alternative interpretations, but I can't help finding the title with its connotations pretty elegant.