The delay necessary for apprehension is determined by the physical mode of apperceiving the message (scanning, reading, grasping over-all, etc.). In other words, assuming that the human mind cannot absorb more than around 16 to 20 bits of originality per second, the message, on the level to which our attention is directed, must be redundant enough to have approximately this rate of originality in order for the message to be perfectly apprehended and understood. If the message’s redundancy is very low, the information or originality is then too great; the receptor’s mind “rejects” it and eventually moves to more accessible levels. On the other hand, if the redundancy is very high (too little information, overly banal), the mind loses interest and eventually moves to another, more “interesting” level.
— Moles, Abraham. Information Theory and Esthetic Perception. 1958. Trans. Cohen, Joel E. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1966.
