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Editor's statement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

R. J. McEliece
Affiliation:
California Institute of Technology
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Summary

A large body of mathematics consists of facts that can be presented and described much like any other natural phenomenon. These facts, at times explicitly brought out as theorems, at other times concealed within a proof, make up most of the applications of mathematics, and are the most likely to survive changes of style and of interest.

This ENCYCLOPEDIA will attempt to present the factual body of all mathematics. Clarity of exposition, accessibility to the non-specialist, and a thorough bibliography are required of each author. Volumes will appear in no particular order, but will be organized into sections, each one comprising a recognizable branch of present-day mathematics. Numbers of volumes and sections will be reconsidered as times and needs change.

It is hoped that this enterprise will make mathematics more widely used where it is needed, and more accessible in fields in which it can be applied but where it has not yet penetrated because of insufficient information.

Information theory is a success story in contemporary mathematics. Born out of very real engineering problems, it has left its imprint on such far-flung endeavors as the approximation of functions and the central limit theorem of probability. It is an idea whose time has come.

Most mathematicians cannot afford to ignore the basic results in this field. Yet, because of the enormous outpouring of research, it is difficult for anyone who is not a specialist to single out the basic results and the relevant material. Robert McEliece has succeeded in giving a presentation that achieves this objective, perhaps the first of its kind.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Theory of Information and Coding
Student Edition
, pp. viii
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2004

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  • Editor's statement
  • R. J. McEliece, California Institute of Technology
  • Book: The Theory of Information and Coding
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511819896.001
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  • Editor's statement
  • R. J. McEliece, California Institute of Technology
  • Book: The Theory of Information and Coding
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511819896.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Editor's statement
  • R. J. McEliece, California Institute of Technology
  • Book: The Theory of Information and Coding
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511819896.001
Available formats
×