Coding and Redundancy: Man-Made and Animal-Evolved Signals - Hardcover

Hailman, Jack P.

 
9780674027954: Coding and Redundancy: Man-Made and Animal-Evolved Signals
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0674027957 ISBN 13: 9780674027954
Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2008

Synopsis

This book explores the strikingly similar ways in which information is encoded in nonverbal man-made signals (e.g., traffic lights and tornado sirens) and animal-evolved signals (e.g., color patterns and vocalizations). The book also considers some coding principles for reducing certain unwanted redundancies and explains how desirable redundancies enhance communication reliability.

Jack Hailman believes this work pioneers several aspects of analyzing human and animal communication. The book is the first to survey man-made signals as a class. It is also the first to compare such human-devised systems with signaling in animals by showing the highly similar ways in which the two encode information. A third innovation is generalizing principles of quantitative information theory to apply to a broad range of signaling systems. Finally, another first is distinguishing among types of redundancy and their separation into unwanted and desirable categories.

This remarkably novel book will be of interest to a wide readership. Appealing not only to specialists in semiotics, animal behavior, psychology, and allied fields but also to general readers, it serves as an introduction to animal signaling and to an important class of human communication.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Jack P. Hailman was Professor of Zoology, Emeritus, at the University of Wisconsin and Research Associate at Archbold Biological Station.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Harvard University Press
Publication date
2008
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0674027957
ISBN 13 
9780674027954
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
272