Information - Hardcover

Von Baeyer, Hans Christian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674013875 ISBN 13: 9780674013872

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2004

Synopsis

Confronting us at every turn, flowing from every imaginable source, information defines our era - and yet what we don't know about it could - and does - fill a book. In this indispensable volume, a primer for the information age, Hans Christian von Baeyer presents a clear description of what information is, how concepts of its measurement, meaning, and transmission evolved, and what its ever-expanding presence portends for the future. Information is poised to replace matter as the primary stuff of the universe, von Baeyer suggests; it will provide a new basic framework for describing and predicting reality in the twenty-first century. Despite its revolutionary premise, von Baeyer's book is written simply in a straightforward fashion, offering a wonderfully accessible introduction to classical and quantum information. Enlivened with anecdotes from the lives of philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists who have contributed significantly to the field, Information conducts readers from questions of subjectivity inherent in classical information to the blurring of distinctions between computers and what they measure or store in our quantum age. A great advance in our efforts to define and describe the nature of information, the book also marks an important step forward in our ability to exploit information - and, ultimately, to transform the nature of our relationship with the physical universe.

About this title

Review:

Von Baeyer has provided an accessible and engaging overview of the emerging role of information as a fundamental building block in science.--Michael Nielsen"Nature" (01/01/2004)

About the Author:

Hans Christian von Baeyer is Chancellor Professor of Physics at the College of William and Mary. His essays in Discover, The Sciences, Reader's Digest, and The Gettysburg Review have won several awards, including the Science Journalism Award of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a National Magazine Award.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0674013875
• ISBN 13: 9780674013872
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272