Claude Shannon: Difference between revisions

[[MorrisAlfred Liebmann MemorialNoble Prize]] (19491939)

*[[Claude E. Shannon Award]] (19721973)

'''Claude Elwood Shannon''' (April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001) was an American [[mathematician]], [[electrical engineering|electrical engineer]], [[computer scientist]] and [[cryptography|cryptographer]] known as the "father of [[information theory]]" and as the "father of the [[Information Age]]".<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-18 |title=Claude Shannon: Father of the Information Age |url=https://ece.engin.umich.edu/stories/claude-shannon-father-of-the-information-age/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=Electrical and Computer Engineering |language=en-US}}</ref> Shannon was the first to describe the Boolean gates (electronic circuits) that are essential to all digital electronic circuits, and was one of the founding fathers of [[artificial intelligence]].<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Slater |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aWTtMyYmKhUC&pg=PA37&dq=claude+shannon+theseus+chess+program+artificial+intelligence&hlpg=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjnlKaP4PmGAxV3RjABHeSOBzE4FBDoAXoECAgQAw#v=onepage&q&f=falsePA37 |title=Portraits in Silicon |date= |publisher=MIT Pr |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-262-69131-4 |edition= |location=Cambridge, Mass. |pages=37–38 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="bmfrs">{{Cite journal | last1 = James | first1 = Ioan | author-link = Ioan James | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.2009.0015 | title = Claude Elwood Shannon 30 April 1916 – 24 February 2001 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 55 | pages = 257–265 | year = 2009 | doi-access = }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Horgan |first=John |author-link=John Horgan (journalist) |date=2016-04-27 |title=Claude Shannon: Tinkerer, Prankster, and Father of Information Theory |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/claude-shannon-tinkerer-prankster-and-father-of-information-theory |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=spectrum.ieee.org[[IEEE]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite magazine |last=Roberts |first=Siobhan |author-link=Siobhan Roberts |date=2016-04-30 |title=The Forgotten Father of the Information Age |url=https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/claude-shannon-the-father-of-the-information-age-turns-1100100 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X |access-date=2023-09-28}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Tse |first=David |author-link=David Tse |date=2020-12-22 |title=How Claude Shannon Invented the Future |url=https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-claude-shannons-information-theory-invented-the-future-20201222/ |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Quanta Magazine}}</ref> He is credited alongside [[George Boole]] for laying the foundations of the [[Information Age]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Atmar |first=Wirt |date=2001 |title=A Profoundly Repeated Pattern |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20168572 |journal=Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America |volume=82 |issue=3 |pages=208–211 |jstor=20168572 |issn=0012-9623}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nahin |first=Paul J. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.cttq957s |title=The Logician and the Engineer: How George Boole and Claude Shannon Created the Information Age |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2012 |jstor=j.cttq957s |isbn=978-0691176000 |language=en |author-link=Paul J. Nahin}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Goodman |first=Jimmy Soni and Rob |date=2017-07-30 |title=Claude Shannon: The Juggling Poet Who Gave Us the Information Age |language=en |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/claude-shannon-the-juggling-poet-who-gave-us-the-information-age |access-date=2023-10-31}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

At the [[University of Michigan]], Shannon [[Dual degree|dual degreed]], graduating with a Bachelor of Science in both electrical engineering and mathematics in 1936. A 21-year-old [[master's degree]] student at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) in electrical engineering, [[A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits|his thesis]] concerned [[switching circuit theory]], demonstrating that electrical applications of [[Boolean algebra]] could construct any logical numerical relationship,<ref name="Fortune">{{cite book |last=Poundstone |first=William |author-link=William Poundstone |title=Fortune's Formula : The Untold Story of the Scientific Betting System That Beat the Casinos and Wall Street |publisher=Hill & Wang |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8090-4599-0 |pages=20 |language=en}}</ref> thereby establishing the theory behind [[Digital computer|digital computing]] and [[Digital electronics|digital circuits]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chow |first=Rony |date=2021-06-05 |title=Claude Shannon: The Father of Information Theory |url=https://www.historyofdatascience.com/claude-shannon/ |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=History of Data Science |language=en-US}}</ref> The thesis has been claimed to be the most important master's thesis of all time,<ref name="Fortune" /> as in 1985, [[Howard Gardner]] described it as "possibly the most important, and also the most famous, master's thesis of the century",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gardner |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Gardner |title=The Mind's New Science: A History of the Cognitive Revolution |publisher=Basic Books |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-465-04635-5 |pages=144 |language=en}}</ref> while [[Herman Goldstine]] described it as "surely{{nbsp}}... one of the most important master's theses ever written{{nbsp}}... It helped to change digital circuit design from an art to a science."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goldstine |first=Herman H. |author-link=Herman Goldstine |url=https://monoskop.org/images/f/fc/Goldstine_Herman_H_The_Computer_from_Pascal_to_von_Neumann.pdf |title=The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann |date= |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-691-08104-5 |location=Princeton, N.J. |pages=119–120 |language=en}}</ref> HeIt has also been called the "birth certificate of the [[Information Age|digital revolution]]",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vignes |first=Alain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HrgMEQAAQBAJ&dq=claude+shannon+1938+thesis+digital+computing+digital+circuits&pg=PR15 |title=Silicon, From Sand to Chips, 1: Microelectronic Components |publisher=ISTE Ltd / John Wiley and Sons Inc |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-78630-921-1 |location=Hoboken |pages=xv |language=en}}</ref> and it won the [[Alfred Noble Prize#Recipients|1939 Alfred Noble Prize]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Rioul |first=Olivier |title=This is IT: A Primer on Shannon's Entropy and Information |date=2021 |work=Information Theory: Poincaré Seminar 2018 |series=Progress in Mathematical Physics |volume=78 |pages=49–86 |editor-last=Duplantier |editor-first=Bertrand |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81480-9_2 |access-date=2024-07-28 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-81480-9_2 |isbn=978-3-030-81480-9 |editor2-last=Rivasseau |editor2-first=Vincent}}</ref> Shannon then graduated with a PhD in mathematics from MIT in 1940.,<ref name=":7" /> with his thesis focused on [[genetics]], with it deriving important results, but it went unpublished.<ref name=":11" />

Shannon contributed to the field of [[cryptanalysis]] for national defense of the United States during [[World War II]], including his fundamental work on codebreaking and secure [[telecommunications]], writing a [[Communication Theory of Secrecy Systems|paper]] which is considered one of the foundational pieces of modern cryptography,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shimeall |first1=Timothy J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eZBqAAAAQBAJ&dq=The+concept+of+perfect+secrecy+was+first+defined+by+Claude+Shannon+in+1946%2C+although+the+work+was+not+declassified+and+published+until+three+years+later&pg=PA167 |title=Introduction to Information Security: A Strategic-Based Approach |last2=Spring |first2=Jonathan M. |publisher=Syngress |year=2013 |isbn=978-1597499699 |pages=167 |language=en}}</ref> with his work described as "a turning point, and marked the closure of classical cryptography and the beginning of modern cryptography."<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last1=Koç |first1=Çetin Kaya |last2=Özdemir |first2=Funda |date=2023 |title=Development of Cryptography since Shannon |url=https://cetinkayakoc.net/docs/r14.pdf |journal=Handbook of Formal Analysis and Verification in Cryptography |pages=1–56 |doi=10.1201/9781003090052-1 |isbn=978-1-003-09005-2}}</ref> The work of Shannon is the foundation of [[Symmetric-key algorithm|secret-key cryptography]], including the work of [[Horst Feistel]], the [[Data Encryption Standard|Data Encryption Standard (DES)]], [[Advanced Encryption Standard|Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)]], and more.<ref name=":9" /> As a result, Shannon has been called the "founding father of modern cryptography".<ref>{{Cite book |lastlast1=Bruen |firstfirst1=Aiden A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fd2LtVgFzoMC&pg=PA3&dq=claude+shannon+father+of+cryptography&hlpg=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiq0rzRtfqGAxVshIQIHQU9AzAQ6AF6BAgHEAM#v=onepage&q&f=falsePA3 |title=Cryptography, Information Theory, and Error-Correction: A Handbook for the 21st Century |last2=Forcinito |first2=Mario |date=2005 |publisher=Wiley-Interscience |isbn=978-0-471-65317-2 |location=Hoboken, N.J |pages=3 |language=en |oclc=ocm56191935}}</ref>

His [[A Mathematical Theory of Communication|His mathematical theory of communication]] laid the foundations for the field of [[information theory]],<ref name="Fortune2">{{cite book |last=Poundstone |first=William |author-link=William Poundstone |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xz4y3u-qM04C&pg=PA16&dq=solomon+w.+golomb+fortune+formula&hlpg=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRqOibpfWGAxWykYkEHYMsCMsQ6AF6BAgGEAM#v=onepage&q&f=falsePA16 |title=Fortune's Formula : The Untold Story of the Scientific Betting System That Beat the Casinos and Wall Street |publisher=Hill & Wang |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8090-4599-0 |pages=15–16 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Claude E. Shannon {{!}} IEEE Information Theory Society |url=https://www.itsoc.org/about/shannon |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=www.itsoc.org}}</ref> with his famous paper being called the "[[Magna Carta]] of the Information Age" by ''[[Scientific American]],''<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Goodman |first1=Rob |last2=Soni |first2=Jimmy |date=2018 |title=Genius in Training |url=https://alumni.umich.edu/michigan-alum/genius-in-training/ |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=Alumni Association of the University of Michigan |language=en-US}}</ref> along with his work being described as being at "the heart of today's digital [[information technology]]".<ref name=":6">{{Cite thesis |last=Guizzo |first=Erico Marui |date=2003 |title=The Essential Message: Claude Shannon and the Making of Information Theory |url=https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/39429 |access-date=11 January 2024 |degree=Master's |publisher=University of Sao Paulo|hdl=1721.1/39429 }}</ref> [[Robert G. Gallager]] referred to the paper as a "blueprint for the digital era".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-07-01 |title=Claude Shannon: Reluctant Father of the Digital Age |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2001/07/01/235669/claude-shannon-reluctant-father-of-the-digital-age/ |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en}}</ref> Regarding the influence that Shannon had on the digital age, [[Solomon W. Golomb]] remarked "It's like saying how much influence the inventor of the [[alphabet]] has had on [[literature]]."<ref name="Fortune2" /> Shannon's theory is widely used and has been fundamental to the success of many scientific endeavors, such as the invention of the [[compact disc]], the development of the [[Internet]], feasibility of [[Mobile phone|mobile phones]], the understanding of [[Black hole|black holes]], and more, and is at the intersection of numerous important fields.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jha |first=Alok |date=2016-04-30 |title=Without Claude Shannon’s information theory there would have been no internet |url=https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/22/shannon-information-theory |access-date=2024-07-21 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chang |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vY7SBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA217&dq=information+theory+claude+shannon+black+holes+quantum+computing&hlpg=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjUxaTRq_yGAxWxr4QIHb-CA5Q4MhDoAXoECAcQAw#v=onepage&q&f=falsePA217 |title=Principles of Scientific Methods |date= |publisher=CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4822-3809-9 |location=Boca Raton |pages=217 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Jha |first=Alok |date=2016-04-30 |title=Without Claude Shannon's information theory there would have been no internet |url=https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/22/shannon-information-theory |access-date=2024-07-21 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

Shannon made numerous contributions to the field of artificial intelligence,<ref name=":10" /> writing papers on programming a computer for chess, which have been immensely influential,<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Apter |first=Michael J. |author-link=Michael Apter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1t4zEAAAQBAJ&pg=RA4-PA123&dq=claude+shannon+chess+artificial+intelligence&hlpg=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwip_f2R_PmGAxXjQjABHcPAADE4MhDoAXoECAkQAw#v=onepage&q&f=falseRA4-PA123 |title=The Computer Simulation of Behaviour |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-0-8153-8566-0 |series=Routledge Library Editions: Artificial intelligence |location=London New York |pages=123 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RWbqEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA31&dq=claude+shannon+chess+artificial+intelligence&hlpg=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwinxqav-vmGAxU7t4QIHZxJDDA4FBDoAXoECAIQAw#v=onepage&q&f=falsePA31 |title=Debugging Game History: A Critical Lexicon |date=2016-06-03 |publisher=The MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-33194-4 |editor-last=Lowood |editor-first=Henry |pages=31–32 |language=en |doi=10.7551/mitpress/10087.001.0001 |editor-last2=Guins |editor-first2=Raiford}}</ref> and also his Theseus machine was the first electrical device to learn by trial and error, being one of the first examples of artificial intelligence.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=Rodney |author-link=Rodney Brooks |date=2022-01-25 |title=How Claude Shannon Helped Kick-start Machine Learning |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/claude-shannon-information-theory |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=ieeespectrum |language=en}}</ref><ref name="MIT"/> He also co-organized and participated in the [[Dartmouth workshop]] of 1956, considered the founding event of the field of artificial intelligence.<ref>{{Cite journal |lastlast1=McCarthy |firstfirst1=John |last2=Minsky |first2=Marvin L. |last3=Rochester |first3=Nathaniel |last4=Shannon |first4=Claude E. |date=2006-12-15 |title=A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence, August 31, 1955 |url=https://ojs.aaai.org/aimagazine/index.php/aimagazine/article/view/1904 |journal=AI Magazine |language=en |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=12–1212 |doi=10.1609/aimag.v27i4.1904 |issn=2371-9621}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Solomonoff |first=Grace |date=2023-05-06 |title=The Meeting of the Minds That Launched AI |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/dartmouth-ai-workshop |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=ieeespectrum |language=en}}</ref> He also made contributions to multiple other fields, such as [[detection theory]] and [[combinatorics]].<ref>{{Cite journal |lastlast1=Effros |firstfirst1=Michelle |last2=Poor |first2=H. Vincent |date=2017 |title=Claude Shannon: His Work and Its Legacy |url=https://ems.press/doi/10.4171/news/103/5 |journal=EMS Newsletter |language=en |volume=2017-3 |issue=103 |pages=29–34 |doi=10.4171/NEWS/103/5 |issn=1027-488X|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Using electrical switches to implement logic is the fundamental concept that underlies all [[Computer|electronic digital computers]]. Shannon's work became the foundation of [[digital circuit]] design, as it became widely known in the electrical engineering community during and after [[World War II]]. The theoretical rigor of Shannon's work superseded the ''ad hoc'' methods that had prevailed previously. [[Howard Gardner]] hailed Shannon's thesis "possibly the most important, and also the most noted, master's thesis of the century."<ref>{{cite book |title=The Mind's New Science: A History of the Cognitive Revolution |first=Howard |last=Gardner |author-link=Howard Gardner |publisher=Basic Books |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-465-04635-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/mindsnewscience00howa/page/144 144] |url=https://archive.org/details/mindsnewscience00howa/page/144 }}</ref> One of the reviewers of his work commented that "To the best of my knowledge, this is the first application of the methods of symbolic logic to so practical an engineering problem. From the point of view of originality I rate the paper as outstanding."<ref name=":02">{{Cite thesis |last=Guizzo |first=Erico Marui |date=2003 |title=The Essential Message: Claude Shannon and the Making of Information Theory |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/4404094.pdf |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |pages=12 |access-date=29 July 2024 |degree=Master of Science}}</ref> Shannon's master thesis won the [[Alfred Noble Prize#Recipients|1939 Alfred Noble Prize]].

Shannon received his PhD in mathematics from MIT in 1940.<ref name="MIT obituary"/> Vannevar Bush had suggested that Shannon should work on his dissertation at the [[Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory]], in order to develop a mathematical formulation for [[Gregor Mendel|Mendelian]] [[genetics]]. This research resulted in Shannon's PhD thesis, called ''An Algebra for Theoretical Genetics''.<ref>{{cite thesis|hdl=1721.1/11174|title=An Algebra for Theoretical Genetics|year=1940|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|type=Thesis|last1=Shannon|first1=Claude Elwood}} — Contains a biography on pp. 64–65.</ref> However, the thesis went unpublished after Shannon lost interest, but it did contain important results.<ref name=":11" /> Notably, he was one of the first to apply an algebraic framework to study theoretical population genetics.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chalub |first1=Fabio A. C. C. |last2=Souza |first2=Max O. |date=2017-12-01 |title=On the stochastic evolution of finite populations |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00285-017-1135-4 |journal=Journal of Mathematical Biology |language=en |volume=75 |issue=6 |pages=1735–1774 |doi=10.1007/s00285-017-1135-4 |pmid=28493042 |issn=1432-1416}}</ref> In addition, Shannon devised a general expression for the distribution of several linked traits in a population after multiple generations under a random mating system, which was original at the time,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hanus |first1=Pavol |last2=Goebel |first2=Bernhard |last3=Dingel |first3=Janis |last4=Weindl |first4=Johanna |last5=Zech |first5=Juergen |last6=Dawy |first6=Zaher |last7=Hagenauer |first7=Joachim |last8=Mueller |first8=Jakob C. |date=2007-11-27 |title=Information and communication theory in molecular biology |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00202-007-0062-6 |journal=Electrical Engineering |language=en |volume=90 |issue=2 |pages=161–173 |doi=10.1007/s00202-007-0062-6 |issn=0948-7921}}</ref> with the new theorem unworked out by other [[Population genetics|population geneticists]] of the time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pachter |first=Lior |author-link=Lior Pachter |date=2013-11-06 |title=Claude Shannon, population geneticist |url=https://liorpachter.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/claude-shannon-population-geneticist/ |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=Bits of DNA |language=en}}</ref>

In 1950, Shannon, designed, and built with the help of his wife, a learning machine learning device,named Theseus. It consisted of a maze on a surface, belowthrough which a mechanical mouse could move through. Below the surface were sensors that followed the path of a mechanical mouse through the maze. After much trial and error, this device would learn the shortest path through the maze, and direct the mechanical mouse through the maze. The pattern of the maze could be changed at will.<ref name="MIT" />

[[Mazin Gilbert]] saysstated that Theseus "inspired the whole field of AI. This random trial and error is the foundation of artificial intelligence."<ref name="MIT">{{cite journal |last1=Klein |first1=Daniel |date=2019 |editor1-last=Dragoon |editor1-first=aLICE |title=Mighty mouse |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/12/19/138508/mighty-mouse/ |journal=MIT News |language=English |location=Cambridge Massachusetts |publisher=MIT Technology Review |issue=January/February |pages=6–7}}</ref>

Shannon met his second wife, [[Betty Shannon|Mary Elizabeth Moore]] (Betty), when she was a numerical analyst at Bell Labs. They were married in 1949.<ref name=SW /> Betty assisted Claude in building some of his most famous inventions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/betty-shannon-unsung-mathematical-genius/|title=Betty Shannon, Unsung Mathematical Genius|work=Scientific American Blog Network|access-date=2017-07-26|language=en}}</ref> They had three children.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Horgan |first1=John |title=Claude Shannon: Tinkerer, Prankster, and Father of Information Theory |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/cyberspace/claude-shannon-tinkerer-prankster-and-father-of-information-theory |website=IEEE Spectrum |date=April 27, 2016 |access-date=19 June 2020}}</ref>

Shannon is credited by many as single-handedly creating information theory and for laying the foundations for the [[Information Age|Digital Age]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-03-12 |title=Claude Shannon |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1326008/Claude-Shannon.html |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=The Telegraph |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Calderbank |first1=Robert |last2=Sloane |first2=Neil J. A. |date=2001-04-12 |title=Claude Shannon (1916–2001) |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/35071223 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=410 |issue=6830 |pages=768 |doi=10.1038/35071223 |pmid=11298432 |issn=1476-4687}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite journal |last=Gallager |first=Robert G. |date=2001 |title=Claude E. Shannon: A Retrospective on His Life, Work, and Impact |url=https://mast.queensu.ca/~math474/gallager-on-shannon-it2001.pdf |journal=IEEE Transactions on Information Theory |volume=47 |issue=7|pages=2681–2695 |doi=10.1109/18.959253 }}</ref><ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=Graham P. |date=2002-10-14 |title=Claude E. Shannon: Founder of Information Theory |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/claude-e-shannon-founder/ |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=Scientific American |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

''[[The Bit Player]]'', a feature film about Shannon directed by [[Mark Levinson (film director)|Mark Levinson]] premiered at the [[World Science Festival]] in 2019.<ref name="physicstoday">{{cite journal |last1=Feder |first1=Toni |title=Review: The Bit Player, an homage to Claude Shannon |url=https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.3.20190719a/full/ |journal=[[Physics Today]] | date = July 19, 2019 |issue=7 |page=5159 |doi=10.1063/PT.6.3.20190719a |bibcode=2019PhT..2019g5159F |s2cid=243548904 |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref> Drawn from interviews conducted with Shannon in his house in the 1980s, the film was released on Amazon Prime in August 2020.

On March 9, 1949, Shannon presented a paper called "Programming a Computer for playing Chess". The paper was presented at the National Institute for Radio Engineers Convention in New York. He described how to program a computer to play [[chess]] based on position scoring and move selection. He proposed basic strategies for restricting the number of possibilities to be considered in a game of chess. In March 1950 it was published in ''[[Philosophical Magazine]]'', and is considered one of the first articles published on the topic of programming a computer for playing chess, and using a computer to [[Solving chess|solve the game]].<ref name="CS"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://billwall.phpwebhosting.com/articles/computer_early_chess.htm|title=Early Computer Chess Programs by Bill Wall|website=billwall.phpwebhosting.com}}</ref> In 1950, Shannon wrote an article titled "A Chess-Playing Machine",<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shannon |first=Claude E. |date=1950 |title=A Chess-Playing Machine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24967381 |journal=Scientific American |volume=182 |issue=2 |pages=48–51 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0250-48 |jstor=24967381 |pmid=15402252 |bibcode=1950SciAm.182b..48S |issn=0036-8733}}</ref> which was published in ''[[Scientific American]].'' Both papers have had immense influence and laid the foundations for future chess programs.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":13" />

Some of the planned activities included:

* The Republic of Macedonia is planningissued a commemorative stamp.<ref>{{cite web |title=Postage Stamps 2016 |url=https://www.posta.com.mk/en/dt_gallery/postage-stamps-2016/ |website=А.Д. Пошта на Северна Македонија |publisher=posta.com.mk |access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref> A [[United States Postal Service|USPS]] commemorative stamp is being proposed, with an active petition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.itsoc.org/about/shannons-centenary-us-postal-stamp|title=Shannon's centenary US postal stamp — Information Theory Society|website=www.itsoc.org}}</ref>

* A documentary on Claude Shannon and on the impact of information theory, ''[[The Bit Player'']], is beingwas produced by [[Sergio Verdú]] and [[Mark Levinson (film director)|Mark Levinson]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Celebrating the Work and Life of Claude Elwood Shannon |url=https://www.ieeefoundation.org/campaign-news/celebrating-the-work-and-life-of-claude-elwood-shannon |website=[[IEEE Foundation]] |access-date=3 August 2019 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803145326/https://www.ieeefoundation.org/campaign-news/celebrating-the-work-and-life-of-claude-elwood-shannon|archive-date=3 August 2019}}</ref>

The [[Claude E. Shannon Award]] was established in his honor; he was also its first recipient, in 19721973.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Claude E. Shannon |url=https://www.itsoc.org/honorsabout/claude-e-shannon-award |titleaccess-date=Claude E. Shannon Award &#124; Information Theory2024-09-13 Society|website=www.itsoc.org}}</ref><ref name="Roberts">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/claude-shannon-the-father-of-the-information-age-turns-1100100|title=Claude Shannon, the Father of the Information Age, Turns 1100100|last=Roberts|first=Siobhan|author-link=Siobhan Roberts|date=April 30, 2016|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|access-date=April 30, 2016}}</ref>

* Claude E. Shannon: "A Mathematical Theory of Communication", ''Bell System Technical Journal'', Vol. 27, pp.&nbsp;379–423, 623–656, 1948 ([httphttps://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6773024&tag=1 abstract]).

[[Category:Foreign Membersmembers of the Royal Society]]