About Lesson
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Definition: The likelihood ratio (LR) is a statistical measure that compares the likelihood of observing certain evidence under two different hypotheses. Specifically, it quantifies how much more likely the evidence is under one hypothesis compared to another.
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Formal Expression: Suppose we have two hypotheses:
- Hypothesis A (Event of Interest): This is the hypothesis we want to test. For example, in your case, it’s the occurrence of rain.
- Hypothesis B (No Event): This is the null hypothesis, representing the absence of the event (e.g., no rain).
The likelihood ratio is given by: [ LR = frac{{P(text{{Evidence}} | text{{Hypothesis A}})}}{{P(text{{Evidence}} | text{{Hypothesis B}})}} ]
- (P(text{{Evidence}} | text{{Hypothesis A}})) represents the probability of observing the evidence given that Hypothesis A (rain) is true.
- (P(text{{Evidence}} | text{{Hypothesis B}})) represents the probability of observing the evidence given that Hypothesis B (no rain) is true.
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Interpretation:
- If the LR is greater than 1, it suggests that the evidence is more likely under Hypothesis A (rain) than under Hypothesis B (no rain).
- If the LR is less than 1, it indicates that the evidence is more likely under Hypothesis B (no rain) than under Hypothesis A (rain).
- An LR of 1 means that the evidence is equally likely under both hypotheses.
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Application:
- In your example, the likelihood ratio of “nine times as high chances of clouds on a rainy day compared to a rainless day” indicates that clouds are more likely when it’s raining (Hypothesis A) than when it’s not raining (Hypothesis B).
Remember, the likelihood ratio helps us weigh the evidence in favor of one hypothesis over another. It’s a valuable tool in various fields, including medical diagnostics, forensic science, and machine learning.
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