Communication theory
Communication theory studies how information is encoded, transmitted, received, and interpreted across human, biological, and engineered systems.
Information theory: The mathematical study of information, uncertainty, and the limits of data transmission. It supplies measures of information and formal limits for communication.
Claude Shannon: An American mathematician and engineer whose work founded modern information theory. His mathematical model separated message transmission from the message’s meaning.
Digital communication: The transmission of information represented as discrete symbols or values. It applies encoding and error control to digital messages and networks.
Semiotics: The study of signs, symbols, and the processes through which they produce meaning. It centers signification, while transmission models often bracket meaning.
Signal: A physical or abstract variation that carries information from one place or state to another. Communication systems encode messages in signals that can be transmitted and detected.
Shannon–Weaver model: A communication model describing source, transmitter, channel, receiver, destination, and noise. It presents a canonical sequence for tracing transmission and interference.
Wireless communication: The transfer of information through electromagnetic waves without a wired connection. It demonstrates communication under fading, interference, and shared-spectrum constraints.
Media ecology: The study of how communication media shape human environments, culture, and perception. It examines media’s effects on social life rather than message transfer alone.
Noise (signal processing): Unwanted or unpredictable variation that interferes with a signal or its interpretation. Noise explains why transmitted messages may differ from intended messages.
Source coding: The representation of messages using codes designed to reduce redundancy or match source statistics. It shows how a sender can represent messages efficiently before transmission.