The foundation of information theory. It is, by far, the most astonishing paper I have ever read. Far more astonishing than Lamport's famous conclusion about clocks. It is the kind of paper that causes a soul rift when read thoroughly.
I’m partial to his Master’s thesis, “A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits.” It literally invented digital computing. As an electrical engineering student it blows me away that one guy’s thesis (he was 21!) can be fundamental to so much.
http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/ms/what/shannonday/shannon1948.pd...
The foundation of information theory. It is, by far, the most astonishing paper I have ever read. Far more astonishing than Lamport's famous conclusion about clocks. It is the kind of paper that causes a soul rift when read thoroughly.