Measuring Information

Quantity of information

What is communication?

What is information?

Quantifying information

Quantifying information (details)

Information and Uncertainty

Quantifying information (continued)

Entropy

Value of information

Amount versus value

Gould's measure


Other resources

Carl T. Bergstrom


Contact Information

cbergst@u.washington.edu

Department of Zoology
University of Washington
Box 351800
Seattle, WA 98195-1800

Information and Communication

What is communication?

While no single definition of communication can encompass the entire range of uses that the word enjoys, the following simple definition will serve as a very useful starting point.

Communication is the transfer of information from a signaller to a signal receiver.

We typically say that in communication, the signaller sends a message through some channel to the receiver, as diagrammed below.


Communication diagram

We typically say that the message conveys information from the signaller to the receiver. But this begs a new question: What is information?


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Last modified April 2, 2006
Copyright © 2006 Carl T. Bergstrom