Intuitive explanation of the definition : According to the definition, <math>\displaystyle H( Y|X) =\mathbb{E}( \ f( X,Y) \ )</math> where <math>\displaystyle f:( x,y) \ \rightarrow -\log( \ p( y|x) \ ) .</math> <math>\displaystyle f</math> associates to <math>\displaystyle ( x,y)</math> the information content of <math>\displaystyle ( Y=y)</math> given <math>\displaystyle (X=x)</math>, which is the amount of information needed to describe the event <math>\displaystyle (Y=y)</math> given <math>(X=x)</math>. According to the law of large numbers, <math>\displaystyle H(Y|X)</math> is the arithmetic mean of a large number of independent realizations of <math>\displaystyle f(X,Y)</math>. | Intuitive explanation of the definition : According to the definition, <math>\displaystyle H( Y|X) =\mathbb{E}( \ f( X,Y) \ )</math> where <math>\displaystyle f:( x,y) \ \rightarrow -\log( \ p( y|x) \ ) .</math> <math>\displaystyle f</math> associates to <math>\displaystyle ( x,y)</math> the information content of <math>\displaystyle ( Y=y)</math> given <math>\displaystyle (X=x)</math>, which is the amount of information needed to describe the event <math>\displaystyle (Y=y)</math> given <math>(X=x)</math>. According to the law of large numbers, <math>\displaystyle H(Y|X)</math> is the arithmetic mean of a large number of independent realizations of <math>\displaystyle f(X,Y)</math>. |