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Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by bjornsing on Saturday May 27, 2017 @02:43PM (#14431302)
> Bayesian inference is a way to get sharper predictions from your data.

Funny, if I had to summarize it in one sentence I'd describe it in the opposite way: Bayesian inference is a way of making less sharp predictions from your data, with quantified uncertainty.

Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by ptero on Saturday May 27, 2017 @04:24PM (#14431782)
OK, I would counter-propose (as I tend to work in a dynamic world):

Bayesian inference is an efficient way to track your estimates and uncertainties as you accumulate data.

Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by j7ake on Saturday May 27, 2017 @05:08PM (#14431989)
Often people avoid a fully Bayes treatment of a problem in order to make the problem more efficient. A full Bayes treatment can be much less efficient than a more "shortcut" approach, such as Empirical Bayes.
Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by sjg007 on Saturday May 27, 2017 @11:59PM (#14433027)
Considering these priors, Bayesian inference quantitates your ignorance.
Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by gugagore on Sunday May 28, 2017 @09:20AM (#14434285)
Perhaps they meant "data efficient" as opposed to "computationally efficient".​
Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by fpoling on Sunday May 28, 2017 @12:13PM (#14434915)
Quantified error bounds can be added to most machine learning algorithms using Conformal Prediction and similar ideas, see [1]-[2]

[1] - https://scottlocklin.wordpress.com/category/tools/machine-le...

[2] - https://www.amazon.com/Algorithmic-Learning-Random-World-Vla...

Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by closed on Saturday May 27, 2017 @03:57PM (#14431693)
Sometimes you are very certain prior to updating your beliefs (in the form of a posterior), which can lead to very sharp predictions from (and possibly in spite of) your data.
Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by digitalzombie on Saturday May 27, 2017 @10:08PM (#14432823)
If your data have noises/randomness, it most likely does, and you use your statistic to reduce the variance of the noises then it would be sharper would it not?
Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by gogoengie on Saturday May 27, 2017 @04:37PM (#14431841)
Quite so. There is a difference between creating uncertainty versus revealing uncertainty.
Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by bernardlunn on Saturday May 27, 2017 @11:09PM (#14432936)
Or Bayesian inference trades certainty for speed ie how we work in real life.
Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by nightski on Sunday May 28, 2017 @11:51AM (#14434823)
Sure if having a sharp prediction means ignoring uncertainty.
Re:How Bayesian Inference Works (2016) by chibg10 on Saturday May 27, 2017 @04:05PM (#14431731)
That's a very strong statement. There's domains where machine learning tends to have better predictive performance than (Bayesian) statistics, but the converse is true in many other domains.

I would summarize it as Bayesian methods work best in areas where there's often not enough data, there exists significant expert knowledge, and you can properly specify a model. And yes, they do quantify uncertainty.