Information Theory

Information theory, founded by Claude Shannon's 1948 paper, quantifies information in bits and establishes limits for data compression and error-free communication over noisy channels.

QR codes apply information theory throughout: encoding modes optimize storage efficiency based on data type (3.3 bits per digit, 5.5 bits per alphanumeric character), and Reed-Solomon error correction enables recovery from up to 30% damage. QR codes are a practical embodiment of Shannon's theorem that error-free communication is possible even with noise.