Information Theory and Knowledge-Gathering

Roy Murphy

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: It is assumed that human knowledge-building depends on a discrete sequential decision-making process subjected to a stochastic information transmitting environment. This environment randomly transmits Shannon type information-packets to the decision-maker, who examines each of them for relevancy and then determines his optimal choices. Using this set of relevant information-packets, the decision-maker adapts, over time, to the stochastic nature of his environment, and optimizes the subjective expected rate-of-growth of knowledge. The decision-maker’s optimal actions, lead to a decision function that involves his view of the subjective entropy of the environmental process and other important parameters at each stage of the process. Using this model of human behavior, one could create psychometric experiments using computer simulation and real decision-makers, to play programmed games to measure the resulting human performance.

Keywords: decision-making; dynamic programming; entropy; epistemology; information theory; knowledge; sequential processes; subjective probability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-ipr, nep-pr~, nep-knm and nep-upt
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