Overview
The science of information is the most influential, yet perhaps least appreciated field in science today. Never before in history have we been able to acquire, record, communicate, and use information in so many different forms. Never before have we had access to such vast quantities of data of every kind. This revolution goes far beyond the limitless content that fills our lives, because information also underlies our understanding of ourselves, the natural world, and the universe. It is the key that unites fields as different as linguistics, cryptography, neuroscience, genetics, economics, and quantum mechanics. And the fact that information bears no necessary connection to meaning makes it a profound puzzle that people with a passion for philosophy have pondered for centuries.
Table of Contents
LECTURE 1
The Transformability of Information 4
LECTURE 2
Computation and Logic Gates 17
LECTURE 3
Measuring Information 26
LECTURE 4
Entropy and the Average Surprise 34
LECTURE 5
Data Compression and Prefix-Free Codes 44
LECTURE 6
Encoding Images and Sounds 57
LECTURE 7
Noise and Channel Capacity 69
LECTURE 8
Error-Correcting Codes 82
LECTURE 9
Signals and Bandwidth 94
LECTURE 10
Cryptography and Key Entropy 110
LECTURE 11
Cryptanalysis and Unraveling the Enigma 119
LECTURE 12
Unbreakable Codes and Public Keys 130
LECTURE 13
What Genetic Information Can Do 140
LECTURE 14
Life’s Origins and DNA Computing 152
LECTURE 15
Neural Codes in the Brain 169
LECTURE 16
Entropy and Microstate Information 185
LECTURE 17
Erasure Cost and Reversible Computing 198
LECTURE 18
Horse Races and Stock Markets 213
LECTURE 19
Turing Machines and Algorithmic Information 226
LECTURE 20
Uncomputable Functions and Incompleteness 239
LECTURE 21
Qubits and Quantum Information 253
LECTURE 22
Quantum Cryptography via Entanglement 266
LECTURE 23
It from Bit: Physics from Information 281
LECTURE 24
The Meaning of Information 293
Table of Contents
LECTURE 1
The Transformability of Information 4
LECTURE 2
Computation and Logic Gates 17
LECTURE 3
Measuring Information 26
LECTURE 4
Entropy and the Average Surprise 34
LECTURE 5
Data Compression and Prefix-Free Codes 44
LECTURE 6
Encoding Images and Sounds 57
LECTURE 7
Noise and Channel Capacity 69
LECTURE 8
Error-Correcting Codes 82
LECTURE 9
Signals and Bandwidth 94
LECTURE 10
Cryptography and Key Entropy 110
LECTURE 11
Cryptanalysis and Unraveling the Enigma 119
LECTURE 12
Unbreakable Codes and Public Keys 130
LECTURE 13
What Genetic Information Can Do 140
LECTURE 14
Life’s Origins and DNA Computing 152
LECTURE 15
Neural Codes in the Brain 169
LECTURE 16
Entropy and Microstate Information 185
LECTURE 17
Erasure Cost and Reversible Computing 198
LECTURE 18
Horse Races and Stock Markets 213
LECTURE 19
Turing Machines and Algorithmic Information 226
LECTURE 20
Uncomputable Functions and Incompleteness 239
LECTURE 21
Qubits and Quantum Information 253
LECTURE 22
Quantum Cryptography via Entanglement 266
LECTURE 23
It from Bit: Physics from Information 281
LECTURE 24
The Meaning of Information 293