His work and its legacy, published with the permission of the ems newsletter. It was renamed the mathematical theory of communication in the 1949 book of the same name, a small but significant title change after realizing the generality of this work. This equation was published in the 1949 book the mathematical theory of communication, cowritten by claude shannon and warren. Shannon 1 introduction and summary the problems of cryptography and secrecy systems furnish an interesting application of communication theory1. Slides of the corresponding talk are also available. I visualize a time when we will be to robots what dogs are to humans. Jul 25, 2017 what were claude shannon s most important contributions to math and technology. Information theory studies the quantification, storage, and communication of information. With the fundamental new discipline of quantum information science now under construction, its a good. Which is the best introductory book for information theory.
Considered the founding father of the electronic communication age, claude shannons work ushered in the digital revolution. He not only pioneered binary logic and arithmetic, he invented a whole new subject area information theory and still had time to have fun with computer chess and theseus, the amazing maze running relay mouse see the video. Shannonshannon, claude elwood, 19162001, american applied mathematician, b. Apr 30, 2016 t his equation was published in the 1949 book the mathematical theory of communication, cowritten by claude shannon and warren weaver. It was the result of crucial contributions made by many distinct individuals, from a variety of backgrounds, who took his ideas and expanded upon them. It was originally proposed by claude shannon in 1948 to find fundamental limits on signal processing and communication operations such as data compression, in a landmark paper titled a mathematical theory of communication. The subtitle how claude shannon invented the information age is one reason. To sum it up, if you want to really understand what entropy means in terms of information theory, then this is the book for it.
Claude shannon, father of information theory internet. This task will allow us to propose, in section 10, a formal reading of the concept of shannon information, according to which the epistemic and the physical views are different possible models of the formalism. The approach is on a theoretical level and is intended to com. This book is an excellent introduction to the mathematics underlying the theory. Claude shannons 1948 paper a mathematical theory of communication is the paper that made the digital world we live in possible. It was renamed the mathematical theory of communication in the 1949 book of the same name, a small but significant title change after realizing the generality of. Claude shannon may be considered one of the most influential person of the 20th century, as he laid out the foundation of the revolutionary information theory. Information theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Claude shannon, the father of the information age, turns 1100100. This fascinating program explores his life and the major influence his. Claude shannons information theory built the foundation for the digital era born 100 years ago, shannon devised the math that made computers powerful. He developed the mathematical theories and techniques that make possible the analysis of switching circuits, computers and communications. T his equation was published in the 1949 book the mathematical theory of communication, cowritten by claude shannon and warren weaver. I used information and coding theory by jones and jones as the course book, and supplemented it with various material, including covers book already cited on this page.
Claude shannon, american mathematician and electrical engineer who laid the theoretical foundations for digital circuits and information theory, a mathematical communication model. It was originally proposed by claude shannon in 1948 to find. Claude elwood shannon is considered as the founding father of electronic. Includes his seminal article the mathematical theory of communication. Masters thesis, massachusetts institute of technology. In this paper a theory of secrecy systems is developed. Developed by claude shannon and norbert wiener in the late 1940s, information theory, or statistical communication theory, deals with the theoretical underpinnings of a wide range of communication devices. This important book, the first published collection of papers by claude e. What were claude shannons most important contributions to. With the fundamental new discipline of quantum information science now under construction, its a good time to look back at an extraordinary. It was founded by claude shannon toward the middle of the twentieth century and has since then evolved into a vigorous branch of mathematics fostering. A tutorial introduction, by me jv stone, published february 2015. Indeed the diversity and directions of their perspectives and interests shaped the direction of information theory.
Claude elwood shannon april 30, 1916 february 24, 2001 was an american mathematician, electrical engineer, and cryptographer known as the father of information theory. Claude shannon, the father of information theory you may not have heard of claude shannon, but his ideas made the modern information age possible. Nov 05, 2015 claude shannon father of the information age duration. In kahns book, the codebreakers, he stated, shannon has managed to quantify the. Claude shannon father of the information age duration. After graduating from the university of michigan in 1936 with bachelors degrees in mathematics and electrical. A mathematical theory of communication is an article by mathematician claude e. Scientific american called it the magna carta of the information age. Claude shannon and the making of information theory core. A student of vannevar bush at the massachusetts institute of technology mit, he was the first to propose the application of symbolic.
And the best way ive found is to explain some of the brilliant ideas he had. What were claude shannons most important contributions to math and technology. The life of the man called the father of information theory. Shannon is noted for having founded information theory with a landmark paper, a mathematical theory of communication, that he published in 1948. An elegant way to work out how efficient a code could be, it. Last updated on november 7, 2019 information theory is a subfield of read more. I taught an introductory course on information theory to a small class. Information theory a tutorial introduction o information.
This book contains the collected papers of claude elwood shannon, one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. Jimmy soni and rob goodman have finally rectified this injustice. Shannon introduction t he recent development of various methods of modulation such as pcm and ppm which exchange bandwidth for signaltonoise ratio has intensi. The concept of entropy was an important feature of shannons theory, which he. It deals with concepts such as information, entropy, information transmission, data. A mind at play is a very interesting book for many reasons. The mathematical theory of communication 75 copy quote. Jul, 2017 vint cerf savours a life of claude shannon, informationtheory pioneer and wildly inventive tinkerer.
Shannon 1 2 which contained the basic results for simple memoryless sources and channels and introduced more general communication systems models, including nite state sources and channels. It is a great biography of a mathematician whose life and production are not that wellknown. What are some standard bookspapers on information theory. Vint cerf savours a life of claude shannon, informationtheory pioneer and wildly inventive tinkerer. Shannon published in bell system technical journal in 1948. Information theory was born in a surprisingly rich state in the classic papers of claude e. It assumes little prior knowledge and discusses both information with respect to discrete and continuous random variables. Of the pioneers who drove the information technology revolution, claude shannon may have been the most brilliant. If you want to know about claude shannon who wrote a seminal article on information theory in 1948 this is a great book. He is the creator of modern information theory, and an early and important contributor to the theory of computing. In the pantheon of cool people who made the modern information era possible, hes right up there.
Information theory is the mathematics of digital technology, and during the claude shannon centenary year 2016 it is thrilling to see his ideas. Shannon award, the highest honor in the field of information theory. For more information about shannon and his impact, see the article by michelle effros and h. Claude shannon information theory is the mathematics of. Information theory a tutorial introduction james v stone stone information theory a tutorial introduction sebtel press a tutorial introduction book cover design by stefan brazzo riginally developed by claude shannon in the 1940s, information theory laid the foundations for the digital revolution, and is now an essential. Its interesting how information theory, las vegas and wall street have been intertwined over the years. The first two samples were constructed by the use of a book of random numbers in conjunction with. During his acceptance lecture, at an international symposium in chicago, he. Claude shannons information theory built the foundation. Information theory information theory before shannon to understand the contributions, motivations and methodology of claude shannon, it is important to examine the state of communication engineering before the advent of shannons 1948 paper. While the jones 2 book does not provide a basket full of lemmas and deep insight for doing research on quantifying information, it is a.
Yet, unfortunately, he is virtually unknown to the public. Virtually all electronic forms of communication today are indebted to shannons work. Claude shannon and the making of information theory. Claude shannon was a mathematician, electrical engineer, and cryptographer known as the father of information theory.
The fact that there has never been a comprehensive biography of claude shannon, the father of information theory, has seemed a particularly egregious oversight as the world has hurtled further and further into the information age. He created the field of information theory when he published a book the mathematical theory. Price points to diagrams in a book that resemble paper fans. Claude shannon, whos 100th anniversary is this year, deserves your attention as a genius of the computer age. The life and work of information theorys founding father. The article was the founding work of the field of information theory. The brilliant life of claude shannon, inventor of the information age. Claude shannon engineering and technology history wiki.
A mathematical theory of communication claude shannon. This paper is dedicated to his memory and the memory of claude shannon, who. Information theory is the mathematical treatment of the concepts, parameters and rules governing the transmission of messages through communication systems. Information theory was not just a product of the work of claude shannon. Claude shannon father of the information age youtube. It turns out that there were three certified geniuses at btl bell telephone laboratories at the same time, claude shannon of information theory fame, john pierce, of communication satellite and. Information theory, sport, betting and the stock market. A tutorial introduction is a highly readable first account of shannon s mathematical theory of communication, now known as information theory. A basis for such a theory is contained in the important papers of nyquist1 and. Shannon, is a fascinating guide to all of the published articles from this worldrenowned inventor, tinkerer, puzzlesolver, prankster, and father of information theory. Mar 17, 20 claude shannon may be considered one of the most influential person of the 20th century, as he laid out the foundation of the revolutionary information theory. Jan 16, 2008 considered the founding father of the electronic communication age, claude shannon s work ushered in the digital revolution.