A Mathematical Theory of Communication

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   Any message — words, images, music — can be broken down into the smallest possible unit of information, a simple yes-or-no answer called a bit.

   A Mathematical Theory of Communication · 1948

   Any information can be reduced to a sequence of simple yes/no questions, called bits.

   Shannon showed you can measure information exactly like a weight, in units called bits. One bit equals a single yes-or-no question. String enough bits together and you can describe a photograph, a song, or an entire book, no matter what original language was used to create it.

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