Critical Terms for Media Studies by W. J. T. Mitchell

Author:W. J. T. Mitchell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Chicago Press

H = –∑pi log pi .

Information theory translates the ratios or improbable order to probable disorder in physical systems into a distinction between signal and noise, or “useful” and “waste” information, in communication systems. In the development of this transposition, information, or “message-entropy,” becomes a variably complex measure of message-probabilities, a measure dependent upon the position of the observer of the communication system. The observer can, for instance, assess the value of a message at its source by increase of order, or at its destination by decrease of disorder.

To summarize: In physical systems doing work by converting energy from one form to another, the thermodynamic entropy of the system is the amount of energy unavailable for further work, or “wasted,” usually in the form of heat. In communication systems, the informatic entropy of the message is a measure of message-probabilities relative to one of several vantage points:

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