| '''Information theory''' studies the [[quantification (science)|quantification]], [[computer data storage|storage]], and [[telecommunication|communication]] of [[information]]. It was originally proposed by [[Claude Shannon]] in 1948 to find fundamental limits on [[signal processing]] and communication operations such as [[data compression]], in a landmark paper titled "[[A Mathematical Theory of Communication]]". Its impact has been crucial to the success of the [[Voyager program|Voyager]] missions to deep space, the invention of the [[compact disc]], the feasibility of mobile phones, the development of the Internet, the study of [[linguistics]] and of human perception, the understanding of [[black hole]]s, and numerous other fields. | | '''Information theory''' studies the [[quantification (science)|quantification]], [[computer data storage|storage]], and [[telecommunication|communication]] of [[information]]. It was originally proposed by [[Claude Shannon]] in 1948 to find fundamental limits on [[signal processing]] and communication operations such as [[data compression]], in a landmark paper titled "[[A Mathematical Theory of Communication]]". Its impact has been crucial to the success of the [[Voyager program|Voyager]] missions to deep space, the invention of the [[compact disc]], the feasibility of mobile phones, the development of the Internet, the study of [[linguistics]] and of human perception, the understanding of [[black hole]]s, and numerous other fields. |