The Bit Player

In a blockbuster paper in 1948, Claude Shannon introduced the world to the “bit” and laid the foundation for the information age. His ideas ripple through such diverse fields as communication, linguistics, genetics, computing, cryptography, neuroscience, artificial intelligence and cosmology. In his spare time, Shannon constructed a mathematical theory of juggling, rode unicycles, wrote the first paper on computer chess and built a flaming trumpet! The Bit Player, directed by Mark Levinson (Particle Fever), combines interviews with leading scientists, archival film, inventive animation and compelling commentary from Shannon himself to tell the story of an overlooked genius who revolutionized the world, but never lost his childlike curiosity.