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SUMMARY:Models of information in structural biology - Agnes Bolinska (Univ
 ersity of South Carolina)
DTSTART:20241031T153000Z
DTEND:20241031T170000Z
UID:TALK223465@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr. Rosanna Dent
DESCRIPTION:On the hierarchical picture of models\, theoretical models are
  constructed on the basis of theory and assessed by comparison to distinct
  models constructed from empirical data. Using the determination of the st
 ructure of the folded polypeptide chain as a case study\, I instead argue 
 that information from theory and data alike can be interpreted as constrai
 nts in the construction of _models of information_. On this view\, more re
 liable information ought to be prioritized\, sometimes forcing reinterpret
 ations of less reliable information\; information from theory and data is 
 thus interdependent. I show how the reliability of information can be asse
 ssed\, arguing that the evidence for a planar peptide bond was stronger an
 d more secure than the evidence for a repeating subunit every 5.1 Å. I fu
 rther show how models are assessed alongside interpretations of informatio
 n in a coherentist manner: a better model accommodates more information\, 
 particularly reliable information\; a model's inability to accommodate som
 e information necessitates reinterpreting that information.
LOCATION:Hopkinson Lecture Theatre\, New Museums Site
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