Skip to main content

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 648))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Probability and statistical methods are a better tool for making scientific inferences and handling uncertainty in empirical contexts. We show how the uncertainties happen in inferences and predictions, and how to handle them easily in some cases. Starting with a couple of probability paradoxes, for giving the reader an idea about how tricky the application of the probability can be, a potential uncertainty in statistical significance testing is shown. How the predictions can be done effectively with the probabilistic approach while handing the uncertainties is presented. And finally, what the analyst needs to consider when doing discrete predictions is discussed through application of Simpson’s paradox. For the task effective use of causal assumptions is discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 229.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Dunson, D.B.: Statistics in big data era: failures of machines. Stat. Probab. Lett. 136, 4–9 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spl.2018.02.028

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  2. Cheeseman, P.: In defense of probability. In: Proceedings of the 9th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, vol. 2, pp. 1002–1009 (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Lindley, D.V.: The probability approach to the treatment of uncertainty in artificial intelligence and expert systems. Stat. Sci. 2(1), 17–24 (1987)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. Katzav, J., Thompson, E.L., Risbey, J., et al.: On the appropriate and inappropriate uses of probability distributions in climate projections and some alternatives. Climatic Change 169 (2021). Article number: 15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-03267-x

  5. Freedman, D.: Monty Hall’s three doors: construction and deconstruction of a choice anomaly. Am. Econ. Rev. 88, 933–946 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Saenen, L., Heyvaert, M., Dooren, W.V., Schaeken, W., Onghena, P.: Why humans fail in solving the Monty Hall dilemma: a systematic review. Psychol. Belg. 281(1), 128–158 (2018). https://doi.org/10.5334/pb.274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. von Neumann, J., Morgenstern, O.: Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, 3rd edn. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1953)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  8. Heukelum, F.: A history of the Allais paradox. Br. J. Hist. Sci. 48(1), 147–169 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007087414000570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Cox, D.R.: The role of significance tests (with discussion). Scand. J. Stat. 4, 49–70 (1977)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  10. Gibson, E.W.: The role of \(p\)-values in judging the strength of evidence and realistic expectations. Stat. Biopharm. Res. 13(1), 6–18 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/19466315.2020.1724560

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Cowell, R.G., Dawid, P., Lauritzen, S.L., Spiegelhalter, D.J.: Probabilistic Networks and Expert Systems. Springer, New York (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/b97670

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  12. Allen, T.V., Singh, A., Greiner, R., Hooper, P.: Quantifying the uncertainty of a belief net response: Bayesian error-bars for belief net inference. Artif. Intell. 172, 483–513 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artint.2007.09.004

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  13. Wijayatunga, P.: Viewing Simpson’s paradox. Stat. Appl. 7(2), 225–235 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Wijayatunga, P.: Causal effect estimation methods. J. Stat. Economet. Meth. 3(2), 153–170 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Priyantha Wijayatunga .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Wijayatunga, P. (2023). Some Cases of Prediction and Inference with Uncertainty. In: Abraham, A., Hanne, T., Gandhi, N., Manghirmalani Mishra, P., Bajaj, A., Siarry, P. (eds) Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Soft Computing and Pattern Recognition (SoCPaR 2022). SoCPaR 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 648. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27524-1_25

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics