As is usual for this column, the emphasis is on history and not on technical commentary. Perhaps many know that soon after his ground-breaking work, Claude Shannon stopped working actively in Information Theory relatively. He left a lot of unplowed ground that many of us were able to develop. Had he kept working in the field, he might have put many of us out of business.
It has been known through anecdotal evidence and through the famous Shannon Interviews in the IEEE Spectrum and elsewhere that he has been engaging in lots of other creative activities since he returned to MIT from the Bell Laboratories (he, allegedly, said something to the effect that it felt good to finally return to...Industry!). The Society, of course, has always felt the need to stay in touch with him and has made frequent efforts to ``smoke him out" and to bring him into the center stage of the Information Theory community.
The first formal occasion when Shannon was brought back into the midst of those who were inspired by his work was at the 1973 ISIT in Ashkelon, Israel. It was the year in which the Shannon Lecture series was inaugurated, and Shannon, himself, was appropriately chosen as the first lecturer. His talk reflected the playfulness with which he liked to approach challenging puzzles. The topic was ``Feedback", and he gave many amusing illustrations, like the infinite repetition of images seen in a pair of mirrors that are opposite each other and the potential of a similar ex- tension to the picture of a figure holding a beer can that decorates the beer can and thus is self-repeating like a converging fixed-point algorithm. Everyone was intrigued by his presence which, however, had not yet reached the almost mystical level that it did later as he again withdrew from public attention for many years to come.
Meanwhile, the ranks of Information Theorists were burgeoning, and Shannon's figure was growing into an imposing, overwhelming, and almost mysterious level. To question his authority would be heresy; to look back at the seeds he planted was considered revelation; to learn about his whereabouts and doings would lead to rumors and expectations that he would turn up one day to solve all the new problems Information Theorists were trying to cope with. Shannon had become a legend.
There was much excitement and some bewilderment among those at- tending the 1985 ISIT in Brighton, England, when it was revealed that Shannon WAS at the Symposium. During the evening reception preceding the conference, people were elbowing each other whispering ``Who is Shannon? What is he like?". Several unlike- ly individuals on the elderly side of the participants' age group (who shall remain unnamed) were approached by eager young students and asked in total seriousness whether, by any chance, they were...Claude Shannon! There was even an individual (also to remain nameless) who confessed that he had actually approached Shannon himself, not, of course, realizing who he was and had asked him whether he knew who Shannon was! The drama reached its climax during the banquet. Bob McEliece, acting in his capacity as Symposium co-chair, but also, in all frankness, as the Society's dramaturgist ``par excellence", gave a rousing intro- duction to, as he put it, ``one of the greatest scientific minds of our time." A never ending standing ovation ensued as Claude Shannon took the microphone and waited for the thunderous ap- plause to subside. What would he say? There was the founding father of our field with his shiny silver hair and an unassuming smile on his face about to address the faithful! What would he say? Well, he said: ``This is...ridiculous!" referring to the protracted cheers and the implied glorification. How effective! Everyone felt like a child reprimanded for having acted somewhat too emotionally. There was also relief in the air. The self- excitement of the group gave way to a calmer and mature feeling of adoration without the hype. Shannon went on to offer various remarks that revealed modesty and humor. He said that he had been wandering through the sessions to see what people were work- ing on. His conclusion gave immense relief to those who might have found his presence in the audience intimidating. ``I didn't understand a thing.", he said! On second thought, this could be interpreted as a supreme, albeit subtle, criticism of our work. After the formal ceremonies concluded, the crowd started mingling around Shannon trying to have a one-on-one with him and to relish the moment.
The organizers of the 1986 ISIT in Michigan thought that they should try to establish Shannon's presence at the Symposia as a tradition. Thus, they extended an invitation to him. And he came. He was present at the banquet and he graciously agreed to present some of the awards during the after-dinner festivities. This time, he said less and seemed to want to keep away from the spotlight. But, again, everyone felt gratified by the demystifi- cation his presence created. This unassuming gentleman with a sharp mind and a delightful sense of humor was a very fitting model for the Society members.
Subsequent attempts to invite him to our Symposia have not been successful. However, he has been present in our news very much, as he kept reaping major international awards like the 1988 Kyoto Prize. And, finally, his Collected Papers were put together so as to place in our minds the brilliant output of his work next to his human image of modesty and elegance.