# Self-Information

> Source: https://sukruyusufkaya.com/en/glossary/bilgi-miktari
> Updated: 2026-05-13T21:05:56.847Z
> Type: glossary
> Category: matematik-istatistik-optimizasyon
**TLDR:** An information-theoretic concept that measures how much information is gained when a single event occurs.

<p>Self-information measures how much “surprise” is associated with the occurrence of a particular event. The rarer the event, the more information its occurrence carries. Common and expected events produce less new information. This concept is one of the building blocks of entropy and makes the intuition behind information theory easier to grasp. In machine learning, we often see the influence of this idea indirectly in probability estimation, classification, and coding-related problems.</p>