Physics with Phil: Information Theory

Photo: soihub.org
Photo: soihub.org

 

If the 21st century is the age of information, then “information theory” must be important, right? But what is information theory and what is it good for? On this episode of Physics with Phil, we talk about the basics of information theory, and how it can be used for applications as varied as telephone calls and making fly embryos. We also discuss the work of May-Britt and Edvard Moser, who discovered grid cells, for which they were just awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine!

Addendum: The related work of Vijay Balasubramanian has now been published at http://arxiv.org/abs/1304.0031, and the paper by the Mosers can be found in Nature (2012) 492: 72.

 



1 thought on “Physics with Phil: Information Theory”

  • Rats for the win, mais zut !

    There is one long-time fan with whom I shared your work who sadly found it hard to listen to, message aside, mais un peu niqué de memetisme (“so, so,” “you know,” “yeah, yeah,” “right, right,” “like, actually,” “et cetera, et cetera”).

    Grosso modo, you sound fine for “our” generation, and your message is loud and interesting. Look into making your own handheld entroposcope. Mycroft Developments has a decent how-to using lentils and rice.

    Your research is strong and evident, and the questions you pose are delicious food for thought. Hope to hear more soon!

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