Elements of Information Theory
Elements of Information Theory by Cover and Thomasby Cover and Thomas
Shares rank 15 of 28 computer science textbooks by recommenders
People recommend it as a solid, gem-quality book for understanding information theory. No recurring criticism appears in the quotes.
People recommend it as a solid, gem-quality book for understanding information theory. No recurring criticism appears in the quotes.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Gives a solid understanding of the field
“a solid understanding of the book by Cover”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “AMD's random number generator can't generate a 0?” Seen as a gem of a book
“Seems like a gem of a book.”
Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “Six (and a half) intuitions for KL divergence”
Other computer science textbooks people recommend
The four most recommended other computer science textbooks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programsby Abelson and Sussman | 55 | 5 | 92% | 12 | — | Approved |
| The Art of Computer Programmingby Donald E. Knuth | 28 | 6 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programsby Abelson and Sussman | 12 | 0 | 100% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Quantum Computation and Quantum Informationby Nielsen and Chuang | 12 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Elements of Information Theoryby Cover and ThomasThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
2 of the 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“a solid understanding of the book by Cover”
“Seems like a gem of a book.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.