- Start
- Jul 31, 194850% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
Shannon Publishes A Mathematical Theory of Communication
- "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" ran in the Bell System Technical Journal, volume 27, pages 379-423 and 623-656, in July and October 1948[1][2]
- The paper opens by noting that "the recent development of various methods of modulation such as PCM and PPM which exchange bandwidth for signal-to-noise ratio has intensified the interest in a general theory of communication", extending the earlier work of Nyquist and Hartley to include the effect of noise[1]
- It gave rise to the field of information theory and has tens of thousands of citations[2]
- It was republished in 1949 as a book, retitled The Mathematical Theory of Communication - "a small but significant title change after realizing the generality of this work"[2]
References 375% CONFIDENCE
The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.
- [1]50%people.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/home/text/others/shannon/entropy/entropy.pdfpeople.math.harvard.edu· Posted Sep 22, 2026· Starts Jul 31, 1948 ✓· 33% of score
The paper's own reprint header gives the issue and no day: "Reprinted with corrections from The Bell System Technical Journal, Vol. 27, pp. 379-423, 623-656, July, October, 1948." It ran in two parts, July and October; a month with no day is estimated at that month's last day, so the pin sits at the end of July 1948, the first part.
- [2]90%A Mathematical Theory of Communicationen.wikipedia.org· Added Sep 22, 2026· 33% of score
Gives the journal and year and the paper's standing: "one of the most influential and cited scientific papers of all time, as it gave rise to the field of information theory", and the 1949 book retitling from A to The Mathematical Theory of Communication.[1]
- [3]85%Claude Shannonen.wikipedia.org· Added Sep 22, 2026· 33% of score
The author's article, for his position at Bell Labs and his earlier 1937 master's thesis applying Boolean algebra to switching circuits.[1]
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