Claude Shannon’s 1948 paper, _A Mathematical Theory of Communication_, laid the foundation of modern information theory. Shannon was inspired by telecommunication problems at Bell Labs, where engineers needed to transmit signals over noisy channels (like telephone wires) efficiently and reliably. He deliberately separated syntax (structure of signals) from semantics (meaning). His theory focuses only on the structure and transmission of information, not what it “means.” Shannon’s 1948 idea: _ask the question that, on average, tells you the most_.