Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
somewhat "outdated", May 6, 2003
If you're attracted to this book because of an interest in the implications of entropy on various aspects of life, including language and information, then you should keep looking.This was no doubt a radical and satisfying read when it first came out in the early 1980s, but the subject area has matured since then. I will recommend the very recent "Mother Nature's Two Laws" by A. D. Kirwan as a fine alternative.
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So many insights on "things being", you have to take notes, April 27, 1998
Jeremy Campbell performs an absolutely brilliant work, linking and polishing all the important concepts about every level of the universe, in such a way that even when they are the most arcane and "for-initiated-only" in their respective fields, they become crystal clear and ebulliently alive through the pages. I actually HAD to take notes carefully quoting him, in order to preserve the understanding and the wonder conveyed by the exact writing. An invaluable piece on the uniqueness of information that is a truly unique piece of the richest information itself. A book to be read many times, especially good if you are a scientist battling with specific facts every day and would appreciate to refresh your perspective of what is the universe all about.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Intro to Information Theory, June 17, 2004
This book succeeds in its stated intention of giving an overview of the development of information theory. Human beings are "decoders" who interpret information. Scientific theories are human creations seeking to enlighten. The author explains a basic explanation from information theory, i.e., that "in an ordinary conversation, information is conveyed when the speaker says something that changes the listener's knowledge."Campbell attacks Darwin's theory, writing, "One major difficulty is that the central argument of Darwinian theory circles back on itself, explaining nothing." He goes into detail on why evolution is unscientific. The brain makes decisions along the way as to what information it will process and how it will interpret what it takes in. "All seeing is interpretation" he writes. He describes the "editing" process of the brain: "...that does not imply that memory necessarily preserves the original meaning intact. The brain goes to work on information while it is being stored in memory,interpreting, drawing inferences, making assumptions, fitting it into a context of past experience and knowledge already acquired." This is a helpful book on information theory, the workings of the brain, and the process of interpreting what one sees. It will open the mind of the nonjudgmental reader.
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