Symbols, signals, and noise
by John R. Pierce · first published 1961
92% recommend8% neutral
Why HN recommends it
An accessible introduction to information theory that builds intuition and places Shannon's work in historical context. Suited to beginners and to readers seeking a lively yet technically credible survey.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…endorsing these specific topics as most fundamental to a CS education (I've more often drawn on discrete math/symbolic logic) but 3Blue1Brown has great series on introductory linear algebra and calculus. And Symbols, Signals, and Noise: An Introduction to Information Theory by John Pierce is also good. My own view echoes this (https://meaningness.com/metablog/how-to-think), which is that it's often useful to know a little about a lot…
on “Computer Science from the Bottom Up (2016)” ↗Time to share my favorite quote from Symbols, Signals and Noise by John R. Pierce, where he discusses how Shannon achieved a breakthrough in Information Theory: > This chapter has had another aspect. In it we have illustrated the use of a novel viewpoint and the…
on “Counterintuitive Properties of High Dimensional Space (2018)” ↗Beginners might want to start with the following works; 1) An Introduction to Information Theory, Symbols, Signals and Noise by John R. Pierce - A classic general text to understand the concepts and build intuition. Other books by the same author are also excellent. 2) Information Theory: A Tutorial Introduction by James V.…
on “Essential Coding Theory [pdf]” ↗…2. Tales of the Weird: An Uncanny Introduction (2023) A collection of short stories from the British Library to introduce the many flavors of weird fiction. 3. An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise (1980) by John R. Pierce A fun survey of information theory with great anecdotes about Bell Labs in mid-century. See my full list here: https://bcmullins.github.io/interesting-books-2025/
on “Ask HN: End of Year Book Recommendations” ↗…(Author) "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas R Hofstadter "Information Theory: A Tutorial Introduction (2nd Edition)" by James V Stone "An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise" Subsequent Edition by John R. Pierce "Coding the Matrix: Linear Algebra through Applications to Computer Science" by Philip N. Klein "Land of Lisp: Learn to Program in Lisp, One Game at a Time!" by…
on “Ask HN: I'm thinking of writing a book – Why would you want a book?” ↗…interesting Integrals. Lots of fun integrations! Nahin - He also wrote some books about euler and imaginary numbers which ive partially read, they seemed good. Pierce - An introduction to information theory; symbols signals and noise. sounds and looks like a dover textbook but is a non-fake pop science book. --------------- Boyer - The History of Calculus and its Conceptual Development. A bit old, and spends too much time on formalism…
on “Classic Mathematics Books for Lifelong Learners” ↗If you want an actual introduction to Information Theory, I'd recommend "An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise". It deals with complicated information theory topics similar to Kolmogorov Complexity (albeit by a different name) in an easy-to-approach way. Highly recommended. [1]: http://www.amazon.com/An-Introduction-Information-Theory-Mat...
on “Kolmogorov Complexity - it's a bit silly” ↗For those intrigued, the Dover edition of An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise by Pierce is a very good book. Accessible, but with a technically credible author.
on “Celebrating Claude Shannon” ↗Hello folks, Recently, I developed a genuine interest in information theory and communication systems, I gave "An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise" a try (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486240614) and I really enjoyed it. I'd like to dig deeper into these topics but I don't know what a good introductory resource (book, course, videos ... etc) about…
on “Ask HN: Resources to Self-Study Communication Systems” ↗_Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise (Dover Books on Mathematics)_ by Pierce is another such book. It is of course only an introduction to the field, but it had an immense impact on how I saw information (hence, the universe) after I read.…
on “Ask HN: What OR Are there some multiple perspective books in mathematics?” ↗If someone is interested in this, I highly recommend J R Pierce's Symbols, Signals, and Noise. The book puts Shannon's work in perspective and gives extremely useful context so that one can better appreciate its value. One can also clearly understand, for example, why the original title of Shannon's…
on “Understanding Shannon's Entropy metric for Information [pdf]” ↗My introduction to Shannon and information theory through this book [1], which talks briefly about language entropy, is what set me on the path to my career. [1]. An Introduction to Information Theory, Symbols, Signals & Noise By John Robinson Pierce · 1980 https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_Introduction_to_Info...
on “Prediction and Entropy of Printed English – Claude Shannon (1950) [pdf]” ↗An Introduction to Information Theory Symbols, Signals & Noise By John Robinson Pierce https://www.google.com/books/edition/An_Introduction_to_Info...
on “A Mathematical Theory of Communication [pdf]” ↗…(2009) * Philosophical Analysis: Its development between the two World Wars by J. O. Urmson Haskins (1956) * Tales of the Weird: An Uncanny Introduction (2023) * An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise by John R. Pierce (1980) * Relativism and the Foundations of Philosophy by Steven D. Hales (2006)
on “Interesting Books (2025 Edition)” ↗…Information Theory, Proceedings of the Third London Symposium (1956). Measured how many bits of information are expressed by a pianist while pressing keys on a piano. Result: 25 bits per second. J R Pierce "Symbols, Signals and Noise" (Harper 1961) - used experiments involving letters and symbols. Result: 44 bits per second. Discussion of the research, Tor Norretranders book, and what the research may have missed here: http://memebake.blogspot.com/2008/08/straw-dogs-and-bandwidt...
on “Human speech may have a universal transmission rate: 39 bits per second” ↗