Information Theory and Its Application to Taxonomy
D. K. C. MacDonald · Journal of Applied Physics · 1952
A possible source of confusion between the concept of information content and entropy in the theory of information is discussed and resolved. Information theory is then applied to the problem of taxonomy or classification of data and several models are discussed, representative of various possible methods of filing data with the purpose of determining the optimum size of filing-unit in relation to the given data. The possible fields of application envisaged include the classification of faults in a system, the statistical analysis of data or the indexing of books, letters, etc.