But it still stands as an important moment in Shannon’s story. Shannon gave the impression of the carefree scholar—someone secure enough in his own intellect and reputation to brush aside the opinion of others. Wiener’s opinions and contribution mattered—but not because Shannon worried about who would or wouldn’t receive credit. Debates in his field mattered to him less for their opportunities to assert “ownership” of information theory than for their bearing on the substance of information theory itself. Credit, in the end, counted less than accuracy.
