Negentropy and Information in Telecommunications, Writing, and Reading

摘要

The negentropy principle of information was discussed in a previous paper and applied to a variety of problems of scientific observation. The present paper considers the technical problems of telecommunication. Using a thermodynamical discussion one obtains the Shannon formula for the capacity of a channel with noise. This example proves again the connection between information and negentropy. The problem of writing and reading is examined. Here we have a type of ``dead information'' which must be re‐energized for reading: The source of light needed for reading provides the negentropy which is changed into information by the reader. The negentropy connected with ``organization'' is also discussed. All these examples show the connection between information and negentropy. They are of great importance for a theory of information, although the entropy amounts involved may be completely negligible.