---
title: "The Mathematical Theory of Communication"
authors:
  - "Claude E. Shannon"
  - "Warren Weaver"
year: 1949
venue: "University of Illinois Press"
arxiv: null
doi: null
source: "https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p725487"
topics:
  - information-theory
  - shannon
  - weaver
seed_rank: 554
seed_batch: "foundations-greats-2026-08-13"
reviewed: "2026-08-13"
pool: "maths-foundations"
relevance_score: 9
lineage: foundations-of-computing
cites:
  - title: "A Mathematical Theory of Communication"
    url: "https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-7305.1948.tb01338.x"
    year: 1948
    arxiv: null
    doi: "10.1002/j.1538-7305.1948.tb01338.x"
see:
  - "553-a-mathematical-theory-of-communication"
---

# The Mathematical Theory of Communication

## One-sentence takeaway

The Illinois book reprints Shannon's 1948 BSTJ memoir and adds Weaver's three-level essay that carried information theory to non-engineers.

## Why it matters here

When Broadside notes say "Shannon–Weaver," they mean this book form, not the journal paper; keep the two cards distinct so citations stay honest.

## Key ideas

- Part II is Shannon's technical text, essentially the 1948 memoir with minor revisions.
- Weaver's opening essay splits communication into technical (symbols), semantic (meaning), and effectiveness (influence) problems, and insists Shannon solved only the first.
- Weaver popularizes entropy, redundancy, and channel capacity without the full proof apparatus.
- The 1949 cloth edition is the original book; Illinois later reprints (including the 1963 paperback, ISBN 978-0-252-72548-7) keep the same pairing.
- Cite this card for the book and Weaver's framing; cite the BSTJ card for theorems and formulas.

## Caveats

## Links

- URL: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p725487