On Mar 26, 2009, at 10:45 AM, Phillip Lord wrote:
Pat Hayes <pha...@ihmc.us> writes:
Besides which, the issue being discussed here is one of equality.
When
are two proteins the same protein?
TWO proteins are never the same protein. Two mangelwurzels are
never the same
mangelwurzel, either. What 'same' means, is that there is ONE
thing with two
names. Being the same as is never a relationship between two
different
things.
This is obvious; the question is about types of proteins. A statement
like: "every protein molecule in the world is different from every
other
protein molecule" is true, but more or less totally useless.
I agree, but I have no idea why you keep harping on about molecules. I
didn't mention molecules.
We are talking about proteins not protein molecules
Indeed, we are. Glad we have that clear.
; if I give you a
solution of protein molecules, all the same, and you split it into two
halves, do you now suddenly have two proteins?
No, of course not. You have two pieces of the same material. (This is
all very standard ontological stuff, by the way: mereology 101)
Protein is a mass term. You would agree that two glasses of water both
hold the same substance; just so for protein.
Quite.
The question is, then,
when are two samples of protein, samples of the same protein.
I don't know the answer to that (not being a chemist) but I do know
what it *means to say* they are the same protein, which is all we need
for writing ontologies.
A
secondary question is, how do we represent this computationally.
You could use, for example, owl:sameAs. Provided of course that
'proteins' were in your ontology.
I fail to see what you see as being any problem here. These 'issues'
about mass terms were all fully worked out decades ago.
Pat
We are going around in circles here; I think that I have said enough.
Phil
------------------------------------------------------------
IHMC (850)434 8903 or (650)494 3973
40 South Alcaniz St. (850)202 4416 office
Pensacola (850)202 4440 fax
FL 32502 (850)291 0667 mobile
phayesAT-SIGNihmc.us http://www.ihmc.us/users/phayes
