Decomposing information into copying versus transformation.

ABSTRACT: In many real-world systems, information can be transmitted in two qualitatively different ways: by copying or by transformation. Copying occurs when messages are transmitted without modification, e.g. when an offspring receives an unaltered copy of a gene from its parent. Transformation occurs when messages are modified systematically during transmission, e.g. when mutational biases occur during genetic replication. Standard information-theoretic measures do not distinguish these two modes of information transfer, although they may reflect different mechanisms and have different functional consequences. Starting from a few simple axioms, we derive a decomposition of mutual information into the information transmitted by copying versus the information transmitted

SUBMITTER: Kolchinsky A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7014805 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature