# Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms by David MacKay

4 Hacker News commenters recommended Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms by David MacKay and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as the standard textbook on information theory for machine learning, praised for presenting dense topics in an interesting and digestible way.

## Why people recommend it

- Standard textbook for ML information theory (2 comments): "it's worth checking out the late David MacKay's 2003 textbook Information Theory, Inference & Learning Algorithms" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49799246)) "he wrote the textbook on information theory for the ML community" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49896178))
- Interesting and digestible presentation of topics (1 comments): "That book significantly decreased my appreciation of our statistics professor @uni, because it presented the same topics in a much more interesting and digestible way." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49895391))
- Frequently recommended to others (1 comments): "I recommend every where I get a chance" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47705888))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Abelson and Sussman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs.md): 55 recommend
- [The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth](https://hackerapproved.com/p/art-of-computer-programming.md): 28 recommend
- [Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Abelson and Sussman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sicp.md): 12 recommend
- [Quantum Computation and Quantum Information by Nielsen and Chuang](https://hackerapproved.com/p/quantum-computation-and-quantum-information.md): 12 recommend
- [Digital Design and Computer Architecture by Harris and Harris](https://hackerapproved.com/p/digital-design-and-computer-architecture.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0521642981?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780521642989) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms by David MacKay", https://hackerapproved.com/p/information-theory-inference-and-learning-algorithms/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).