Part 2/8:
Every time we utilize data transmission technologies, such as streaming videos over the Internet, we experience the results of information theory in action. Central to this framework are two critical ideas: data compression and error correction.
Data compression involves reducing the size of data files by eliminating redundant information. Most efficient algorithms for this task are grounded in the principles of information theory. Additionally, error correction is indispensable in the digital world, which is rife with data corruption – whether it's due to faulty disks, lost packets in Wi-Fi, or flipped bits in memory. Error-correcting codes allow us to encode information such that even if part of it is compromised, we can still retrieve the original message.