Entropy & Information Content: Examining the Difference

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
2 replies · 3K views
louislaolu
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
What does entropy in the following sentence means? Does it mean the same as the term "information content" before it? Is entropy more technical a term than information content?

He remembered taking a class in information theory as a third-year student in college. The professor had put up two pictures: One was the famous Song Dynasty painting, full of fine, rich details; the other was a photograph of the sky on a sunny day, the deep blue expanse broken only by a wisp of cloud that one couldn't even be sure was there. The professor asked the class which picture contained more information. The answer was that the photograph's information content--its entropy exceeded the painting's by one or two orders of magnitude.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
Google for a formal definition of entropy in the context of information theory.
 
Reply
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: sophiecentaur