What's the perfect encoding? How do you know?
3Blue1Brown
Jun 10, 2026
Efficient data transmission requires aligning binary codes with the probability of specific outcomes. By assigning shorter bit sequences to more frequent movements, you minimize the average cost per instruction, mirroring the fundamental principles of Shannon entropy. This approach proves that compression is not just a storage tool, but a core component of intelligent information processing.
Key insight: The most efficient way to encode instructions is to assign shorter binary codes to more probable events, directly demonstrating that compression is a fundamental measure of intelligence.
