• SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    30
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    That’s pretty disingenuous, since most files aren’t just random data.

    Most real files actually have rather low entropy, even if they look like random junk (e.g., executables), chiefly due to repetition of similar data and sparse values.

    • wumpus@latte.isnot.coffee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      Exactly. It’s merely our human preference for those types of files that allow them to work at all.

      • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        It’s not a preference; it’s simply the state of the system to which we may desire to apply compression.