Information Theory and Complex Systems
Comm 1125 − Media Theory
Jonathan Sterne, professor
Information theory is designed for understanding communication in complex systems. In his essay on the Valujet crash, William Langewiesche argues that perhaps the accident was unavoidable because of communication failures that are endemic to large, complex systems like commercial aviation. Your job in each group will be to think through the accident as a communication problem using information theory, and decide for yourself if the accident was unavoidable. We will then reconvene in a large group and discuss your findings. Your tasks:
1. Introduce yourselves so you can start learning everyone’s names. Designate one person in the group to keep the group on task and another to take notes.
2. Begin by establishing the facts of the accident. How were mechanical failures related to human failure? How would an information theorist describe what happened?
3. Consider some of the key communication events that led up to the accident from a information theory point of view. How did “noise” or entropy come into play? What about feedback, the relational aspect of communication, or intentionality?
4. Based on your analysis of a few key communication events that led up to the accident, could cybernetics have helped prevent the accident? Could it help prevent future “system accidents” or communication-based accidents on airlines? Do you think an information theorist would agree with Langewiesche that these kinds of accidents are unavoidable? Why or why not?