Discrete Math Seminar Fall 2008
Derivation of the uncertainty function
Abby Brackins, UNL; Nov 25
The average uncertainty of a discrete random variable X is given
by a function, H(X). We will discuss the axioms that a reasonable function
for uncertainty must satisfy, and show that
$-C\sum_{i=1}^{M}p_{i}log(p_{i})$ is the only function that satisfies these
axioms. We will conclude with a few different interpretations of H(X).