Meaning no disparagement of Shannon and Information Theory, I would urge you to study Cybernetics as well.
Information Theory can be understood as an attempt to make real world phenomenon act like digital symbols. Cybernetics, in contrast, attempts to make digital symbols act like real world phenomenon.
In logic, "A = not A" is a contradiction that jams the works, but in cybernetics it's just an oscillator. Our systems are more properly modelled by the formalisms of Cybernetics than Information Theory.
Cybernetics was highly influenced by Shannon's IT. Shannon was also an active member in the cybernetics community. I would not consider the theories antithetical but rather synthetical.
Thanks for the link. I've been struggling recently in trying to explain a lot of ideas that seem to coincide very tightly with cybernetics. This gives me so much to read on! :)
Information Theory can be understood as an attempt to make real world phenomenon act like digital symbols. Cybernetics, in contrast, attempts to make digital symbols act like real world phenomenon.
In logic, "A = not A" is a contradiction that jams the works, but in cybernetics it's just an oscillator. Our systems are more properly modelled by the formalisms of Cybernetics than Information Theory.
(You can get a PDF copy of "Introduction to Cybernetics" from http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASHBBOOK.html)