## Annealing Down

A few years ago we saw how we could search for a local minimum of a function, being a point for which it returns a lesser value than any in its immediate vicinity, by taking random steps and rejecting those that lead uphill; an algorithm that we dubbed the blindfolded hill climber. Whilst we have since seen that we could progress towards a minimum much more rapidly by choosing the directions in which to step deterministically, there is a way that we can use random steps to yield better results.

Full text...

## Copulating Normally

Last year we took a look at multivariate uniformly distributed random variables, which generalise uniform random variables to multiple dimensions with random vectors whose elements are independently uniformly distributed. We have now seen how we can similarly generalise normally distributed random variables with the added property that the normally distributed elements of their vectors may be dependent upon each other; specifically that they may be correlated.
As it turns out, we can generalise this dependence to arbitrary sets of random variables with a fairly simple observation.

Full text...

## The Cumulative Distribution Unction

We have previously seen how we can generalise normally distributed random variables to multiple dimensions by defining vectors with elements that are linear functions of independent standard normally distributed random variables, having means of zero and standard deviations of one, with

Z' = L × Z + μ

where L is a constant matrix, Z is a vector whose elements are the independent standard normally distributed random variables and μ is a constant vector.
So far we have derived and implemented the probability density function and the characteristic function of the multivariate normal distribution that governs such random vectors but have yet to do the same for its cumulative distribution function since it's a rather more difficult task and thus requires a dedicated treatment, which we shall have in this post.

Full text...

## Multiple Multiply Normal Functions

Last time we took a look at how we could define multivariate normally distributed random variables with linear functions of multiple independent standard univariate normal random variables.
Specifically, given a Z whose elements are independent standard univariate normal random variables, a constant vector μ and a constant matrix L

Z' = L × Z + μ

has linearly dependent normally distributed elements, a mean vector of μ and a covariance matrix of

Σ' = L × LT

where LT is the transpose of L in which the rows and columns are switched.
We got as far as deducing the characteristic function and the probability density function of the multivariate normal distribution, leaving its cumulative distribution function and its complement aside until we'd implemented both them and the random variable itself, which we shall do in this post.

Full text...

## Every Which Way Is Normal

A few months ago we saw how we could generalise the concept of a random variable to multiple dimensions by generating random vectors rather than numbers. Specifically we took a look at the multivariate uniform distribution which governs random vectors whose elements are independently uniformly distributed.
Whilst it demonstrated that we can find multivariate versions of distribution functions such as the probability density function, the cumulative distribution function and the characteristic function, the uniform distribution is fairly trivial and so, for a more interesting example, this time we shall look at generalising the normal distribution to multiple dimensions.

Full text...

## Integration, Quasi Mode

Last time we saw how it was possible to use uniformly distributed random variables to approximate the integrals of univariate and multivariate functions, being those that take numbers and vectors as arguments respectively. Specifically, since the integral of a univariate function is equal to the net area under its graph within the interval of integration it must equal its average height multiplied by the length of that interval and, by definition, the expected value of that function for a uniformly distributed random variable on that interval is the average height and can be approximated by the average of a large number of samples of it. This is trivially generalised to multivariate functions with multidimensional volumes instead of areas and lengths.
We have also seen how quasi random sequences fill areas more evenly than pseudo random sequences and so you might be asking yourself whether we could do better by using the former rather than the latter to approximate integrals.

Clever you!

Full text...

## Monte Carlo Or Bust

We have taken a look at a few different ways to numerically approximate the integrals of functions now, all of which have involved exactly integrating simple approximations of those functions over numerous small intervals. Whilst this is an appealing strategy, as is so often the case with numerical computing it is not the only one.

Full text...

## The Nesting Instinct

We have spent some time now looking at how we might numerically approximate the integrals of functions but have thus far completely ignored the problem of integrating functions with more than one argument, known as multivariate functions.
When solving integrals of multivariate functions mathematically we typically integrate over each argument in turn, treating the others as constants as we do so. At each step we remove one argument from the problem and so must eventually run out of them, at which point we will have solved it.
It is consequently extremely tempting to approximate multivariate integrals by recursively applying univariate numerical integration algorithms to each argument in turn.

Full text...

## A Jump To The Left And Some Steps To The Right

We have previously seen how we can approximate the integrals of functions by noting that they are essentially the areas under their graphs and so by drawing simple shapes upon those graphs and adding up their areas we can numerically calculate the integrals of functions that we might struggle to solve mathematically.
Specifically, if we join two points x1 and x2 on the graph of a function f with a straight line and another two vertically from them to the x axis then we've drawn a trapezium.

In regions where a function is rapidly changing we need a lot of trapeziums to accurately approximate its integral. If we restrict ourselves to trapeziums of equal width, as we have done so far, this means that we might spend far too much effort putting trapeziums in regions where a function changes slowly if it also has regions where it changes quickly.

The obvious solution to this is, of course, to use trapeziums of different widths.

Full text...

## Into The Nth Dimension

A few years ago we took a look at some of the properties of uniformly distributed random variables, whose values have equal probabilities of falling within intervals of equal width within their ranges. A simple generalisation of this are multivariate uniform distributions which govern random vectors that fall within equal volumes with equal probability.

Full text...

### Gallimaufry

 AKCalc ECMA Endarkenment Turning Sixteen

This site requires HTML5, CSS 2.1 and JavaScript 5 and has been tested with

 Chrome 26+ Firefox 20+ Internet Explorer 9+