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Information Theory And Evolution (Third Edition)

Author : John Scales Avery

Publisher : World Scientific

Page : 329 pages

File Size : 49,43 MB

Release : 2021-11-24

Category : Science

ISBN : 9811250383

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Book Description

This highly interdisciplinary book discusses the phenomenon of life, including its origin and evolution, against the background of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and information theory. Among the central themes is the seeming contradiction between the second law of thermodynamics and the high degree of order and complexity produced by living systems. As the author shows, this paradox has its resolution in the information content of the Gibbs free energy that enters the biosphere from outside sources. Another focus of the book is the role of information in human cultural evolution, which is also discussed with the origin of human linguistic abilities. One of the final chapters addresses the merging of information technology and biotechnology into a new discipline — bioinformation technology.This third edition has been updated to reflect the latest scientific and technological advances. Professor Avery makes use of the perspectives of famous scholars such as Professor Noam Chomsky and Nobel Laureates John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edward Moser to cast light on the evolution of human languages. The mechanism of cell differentiation, and the rapid acceleration of information technology in the 21st century are also discussed.With various research disciplines becoming increasingly interrelated today, Information Theory and Evolution provides nuance to the conversation between bioinformatics, information technology, and pertinent social-political issues. This book is a welcome voice in working on the future challenges that humanity will face as a result of scientific and technological progress.



Information Theory, Inference and Learning Algorithms

Author : David J. C. MacKay

Publisher : Cambridge University Press

Page : 694 pages

File Size : 36,32 MB

Release : 2003-09-25

Category : Computers

ISBN : 9780521642989

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Book Description

Information theory and inference, taught together in this exciting textbook, lie at the heart of many important areas of modern technology - communication, signal processing, data mining, machine learning, pattern recognition, computational neuroscience, bioinformatics and cryptography. The book introduces theory in tandem with applications. Information theory is taught alongside practical communication systems such as arithmetic coding for data compression and sparse-graph codes for error-correction. Inference techniques, including message-passing algorithms, Monte Carlo methods and variational approximations, are developed alongside applications to clustering, convolutional codes, independent component analysis, and neural networks. Uniquely, the book covers state-of-the-art error-correcting codes, including low-density-parity-check codes, turbo codes, and digital fountain codes - the twenty-first-century standards for satellite communications, disk drives, and data broadcast. Richly illustrated, filled with worked examples and over 400 exercises, some with detailed solutions, the book is ideal for self-learning, and for undergraduate or graduate courses. It also provides an unparalleled entry point for professionals in areas as diverse as computational biology, financial engineering and machine learning.



Information Theory And Evolution (2nd Edition)

Author : John Scales Avery

Publisher : World Scientific

Page : 277 pages

File Size : 18,89 MB

Release : 2012-05-21

Category : Science

ISBN : 9814401250

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Book Description

Information Theory and Evolution discusses the phenomenon of life, including its origin and evolution (and also human cultural evolution), against the background of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and information theory. Among the central themes is the seeming contradiction between the second law of thermodynamics and the high degree of order and complexity produced by living systems. This paradox has its resolution in the information content of the Gibbs free energy that enters the biosphere from outside sources, as the author will show. The role of information in human cultural evolution is another focus of the book.The first edition of Information Theory and Evolution made a strong impact on thought in the field by bringing together results from many disciplines. The new second edition offers updated results based on reports of important new research in several areas, including exciting new studies of the human mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal DNA. Another extensive discussion featured in the second edition is contained in a new appendix devoted to the relationship of entropy and Gibbs free energy to economics. This appendix includes a review of the ideas of Alfred Lotka, Frederick Soddy, Nicholas Georgiescu-Roegen and Herman E. Daly, and discusses the relevance of these ideas to the current economic crisis.The new edition discusses current research on the origin of life, the distinction between thermodynamic information and cybernetic information, new DNA research and human prehistory, developments in current information technology, and the relationship between entropy and economics.





Entropy, Information, and Evolution

Author : Bruce H. Weber

Publisher : MIT Press (MA)

Page : 376 pages

File Size : 46,67 MB

Release : 1987-12-01

Category : Political Science

ISBN : 9780262731683

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Book Description

One of the most exciting and controversial areas of scientific research in recent years has been the application of the principles of nonequilibrium thermodynamics to the problems of the physical evolution of the universe, the origins of life, the structure and succession of ecological systems, and biological evolution.



Evolution As Entropy

Author : Daniel R. Brooks

Publisher : University of Chicago Press

Page : 438 pages

File Size : 28,94 MB

Release : 1988-10-15

Category : Science

ISBN : 9780226075747

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Book Description

This second edition in just two years offers a considerably revised second chapter, in which information behavior replaces analogies to purely physical systems, as well as practical applications of the authors' theory. Attention is also given to a hierarchical theory of ecosystem behavior, taking note of constraints on local ecosystem members resul.



Quantum Information Theory

Author : Mark Wilde

Publisher : Cambridge University Press

Page : 673 pages

File Size : 43,19 MB

Release : 2013-04-18

Category : Computers

ISBN : 1107034256

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Book Description

A self-contained, graduate-level textbook that develops from scratch classical results as well as advances of the past decade.



Information, Physics, and Computation

Author : Marc Mézard

Publisher : Oxford University Press

Page : 584 pages

File Size : 50,31 MB

Release : 2009-01-22

Category : Computers

ISBN : 019857083X

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Book Description

A very active field of research is emerging at the frontier of statistical physics, theoretical computer science/discrete mathematics, and coding/information theory. This book sets up a common language and pool of concepts, accessible to students and researchers from each of these fields.



Information Theory

Author : JV Stone

Publisher : Sebtel Press

Page : 243 pages

File Size : 34,73 MB

Release : 2015-01-01

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 0956372856

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Book Description

Originally developed by Claude Shannon in the 1940s, information theory laid the foundations for the digital revolution, and is now an essential tool in telecommunications, genetics, linguistics, brain sciences, and deep space communication. In this richly illustrated book, accessible examples are used to introduce information theory in terms of everyday games like ‘20 questions’ before more advanced topics are explored. Online MatLab and Python computer programs provide hands-on experience of information theory in action, and PowerPoint slides give support for teaching. Written in an informal style, with a comprehensive glossary and tutorial appendices, this text is an ideal primer for novices who wish to learn the essential principles and applications of information theory.



Maximum Entropy and Ecology

Author : John Harte

Publisher : OUP Oxford

Page : 282 pages

File Size : 30,90 MB

Release : 2011-06-23

Category : Science

ISBN : 0191621161

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Book Description

This pioneering graduate textbook provides readers with the concepts and practical tools required to understand the maximum entropy principle, and apply it to an understanding of ecological patterns. Rather than building and combining mechanistic models of ecosystems, the approach is grounded in information theory and the logic of inference. Paralleling the derivation of thermodynamics from the maximum entropy principle, the state variable theory of ecology developed in this book predicts realistic forms for all metrics of ecology that describe patterns in the distribution, abundance, and energetics of species over multiple spatial scales, a wide range of habitats, and diverse taxonomic groups. The first part of the book is foundational, discussing the nature of theory, the relationship of ecology to other sciences, and the concept of the logic of inference. Subsequent sections present the fundamentals of macroecology and of maximum information entropy, starting from first principles. The core of the book integrates these fundamental principles, leading to the derivation and testing of the predictions of the maximum entropy theory of ecology (METE). A final section broadens the book's perspective by showing how METE can help clarify several major issues in conservation biology, placing it in context with other theories and highlighting avenues for future research.