3 ms·
There's a distinct difference in the asymptotic behavior though between the lower bound and the prior. The lower bound goes to the mean as 1/sqrt(n), the prior
by moultano 15y ago
There's a distinct difference in the asymptotic behavior though between the lower bound and the prior. The lower bound goes to the mean as 1/sqrt(n), the prior goes to the mean as 1/n.
That makes for a pretty significant difference in practice, and I'm not sure which is preferable.
- NathanRice 15y agoYou are absolutely correct that they are not mathematically identical. I struggled to word it in a way that would not mislead people, the distinction is important to emphasize.
- moultano 15y agoIt has a really big effect I think on the tone of what gets selected at the top. The lower bound prefers things that are preferred by a majority and very popular. The prior method prefers things that are completely un-objectionable and liked by just enough people to be sure of that. My hunch is that with the lower bound you get more interesting things bubbling to the top because it puts a stronger emphasis on popularity. In all of these models, the giant variable that is completely ignored is the actual choice to rate something at all, versus skipping over it and reading the next one. That's a very significant decision that the user makes. The behavior of each of these systems w.r.t that effect will be the dominant thing differentiating them.