A brief tutorial on information theory

TL;DR

This paper provides an accessible tutorial on information theory, covering fundamental concepts and context, aimed at students and researchers in biological physics and related fields.

Contribution

It offers a clear, informal introduction to information theory, including basic definitions and context, tailored for educational purposes.

Findings

Clarifies core information theory concepts

Provides practical context for biological physics applications

Serves as an educational resource

Abstract

At the 2023 Les Houches Summer School on Theoretical Biological Physics, several students asked for some background on information theory, and so we added a tutorial to the scheduled lectures. This is largely a transcript of that tutorial, lightly edited. It covers basic definitions and context rather than detailed calculations. We hope to have maintained the informality of the presentation, including exchanges with the students, while still being useful.