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- From: jean@cse.ucsc.edu (Jean McKnight)
- Newsgroups: comp.doc.techreports
- Subject: UCSC TR: On Weak Learning
- Message-ID: <1ic5atINNkav@darkstar.UCSC.EDU>
- Date: 5 Jan 93 14:18:05 GMT
- Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz (CE/CIS Boards)
- Lines: 57
- Approved: compdoc-techreports@ftp.cse.ucsc.edu
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- Originator: golding@oak
-
-
- University of California at Santa Cruz
- Baskin Center for Computer Engineering and Information Sciences
-
- The following technical report is available electronically or as
- a paper copy. Instructions for getting either follow the abstract.
-
-
- UCSC-CRL-92-54 (available electronically as ucsc-crl-92-54.ps.Z)
- ON WEAK LEARNING
- David P. Helmbold and Manfred K. Warmuth
- December 1992, 37 pages ($7.00)
-
- Abstract: An algorithm is a weak learning algorithm if with some
- small probability it outputs a hypothesis with error slightly below
- 50%. This paper presents relationships between weak learning, weak
- prediction (where the probability of being correct is slightly larger
- than 50%), and consistency oracles (which decide whether or not a given
- set of examples is consistent with a concept in the class). Our main
- result is a simple polynomial prediction algorithm which makes only a
- single query to a consistency oracle and whose predictions have a
- polynomial edge over random guessing. We compare this prediction
- algorithm with several of the standard prediction techniques, deriving
- an improved worst case bound on Gibbs Algorithm in the process. We use
- our algorithm to show that a concept class is polynomially learnable if
- and only if there is a polynomial probabilistic consistency oracle for
- the class. Since strong learning algorithms can be built from weak
- learning algorithms, our results also characterizes strong learnability.
-
-
- This technical report is available electronically through either
- of the following methods:
- 1. through anonymous ftp from ftp.cse.ucsc.edu, in /pub/tr. Log in
- as "anonymous", use your email address as your password, specify
- "binary" before getting the file. Uncompress before printing.
- 2. by mail to automatic mail server rnalib@ftp.cse.ucsc.edu.
- Put this command on the subject line or in the body of the message:
- @@ send ucsc-crl-92-54.ps.Z from tr
- To get the index or abstract list:
- @@ send INDEX from tr
- @@ send ABSTRACTS.1992 from tr
- To get the list of the tr directory:
- @@ list tr
- To get the list of commands and their syntax:
- @@ help commands
-
- Order paper copies from: Technical Library, Baskin Center for Computer
- Engineering & Information Sciences, UCSC, Santa Cruz CA 95064.
- Purchase orders are not accepted. Checks or money orders must be
- for U.S. dollars, payable through a U.S. bank, and made out to
- "UC Regents".
-
- Questions: jean@cse.ucsc.edu
-
- ===========================================================================
- Co-moderator: Richard Golding, Computer & Information Sciences, UC Santa Cruz
- compdoc-techreports-request@ftp.cse.ucsc.edu
-