An Introduction to Information Theory Audiobook By John R. Pierce cover art

An Introduction to Information Theory

Symbols, Signals and Noise

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An Introduction to Information Theory

By: John R. Pierce
Narrated by: Kyle Tait
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Behind the familiar surfaces of the telephone, radio, and television lies a sophisticated and intriguing body of knowledge known as information theory. This is the theory that has permitted the rapid development of all sorts of communication, from color television to the clear transmission of photographs from the vicinity of Jupiter. Even more revolutionary progress is expected in the future.

Beginning with the origins of this burgeoning field, Dr. Pierce follows the brilliant formulations of Claude Shannon and describes such aspects of the subject as encoding and binary digits, entropy, language and meaning, efficient encoding, and the noisy channel. He then goes beyond the strict confines of the topic to explore the ways in which information theory relates to physics, cybernetics, psychology, and art. Mathematical formulas are introduced at the appropriate points for the benefit of serious students.

J. R. Pierce worked for many years at the Bell Telephone Laboratories, where he became Director of Research in Communications Principles. An Introduction to Information Theory continues to be the most impressive nontechnical account available and a fascinating introduction to the subject for lay listeners.

©2012 John R. Pierce (P)2019 Tantor Computer Science Mathematics Physics Science Information Theory
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Out of date for what directions look promising and what paths look the most promising, based on mathematical support.

50/50

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I was excited about the book but the proofs of the hex game in first chapter start referencing corners 2 & 3 without even showing or saying where they are. I’m just like wtf? 😬

Desperately needs an accompanying pdf

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Great material, though hard to follow. The description stated it was Information Theory for the layman, however I found that to be slightly misleading. If you are already familiar with concepts of mathematics then be all means this is a good find, if not, find another easier listen.

Not for the layman

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It was amusing to hear that topics that conceptually were easy to postulate back in th 60's and 70's have or are on the brink of becomming reality.

Chapter 2 through 4 are high in entropy and if you are not familiar with those terms when starting the audiobook, don't start it ;-)

1960's classic - still highly relevant

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It's not clear who exactly this book is for. It boasts in requiring no prior knowledge, but it is full of math that wasn't trivial for me to follow (I'm scientist by profession). Also, the book is a little out of focus at times, and seems out of date at times. It moves from discussing encoding and error correction to information theory in art and music and then to "cybernetics", a fuzzy term that was apparently popular at the time and went out of favor. That being said, it's an interesting book and full of useful information; but I think you should not expect to get much out of it if you're not an expert. Also, it is not very well suited for an audio format. It refers to figures and long and complex equations at various points, and there's no accompanying PDF file as far as I could see.

Not bad, but...

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I liked the book although it is, at least for me, difficult as an audio book.

difficult as an audio book

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great intro but definately could use an accompanying PDF to clarify some of the topics.

Needs an accompanying PDF

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This was not at all as I was expecting so I have some bias due to being woefully let down. Much of the book was a board to me and admittedly, over my head. I would rather pick more up on the theory from somebody else that could deliver it to the layman and explain it in such a way, if possible, that does not need to go so deeply into mathematics. The entire mathematics portion of the book, which is most of the book, is not suitable for a book format. It is more suitable for a classroom/lecture format where a professor can actively explain and engage with the learners.

Material better suited for the classroom

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