> For over 300 years, one principle governed every learning system
This seems strangely worded. I assume that date is when some statistics paper was published, but there's no way to know with no definition or citations.
> For over 300 years, one principle governed every learning system
This seems strangely worded. I assume that date is when some statistics paper was published, but there's no way to know with no definition or citations.
There is in fact a footnote about the date:
> 1. The 300-year timeframe refers to the foundational mathematical principles underlying modern bias-variance analysis, not the contemporary terminology. Bayes' theorem (1763) established the mathematical framework for updating beliefs with evidence, whilst Laplace's early work on statistical inference (1780s-1810s) formalised the principle that models must balance fit with simplicity to avoid spurious conclusions. These early statistical insights—that overly complex explanations tend to capture noise rather than signal—form the mathematical bedrock of what we now call the bias-variance tradeoff. The specific modern formulation emerged over several decades in the latter 20th century, but the core principle has governed statistical reasoning for centuries.
They added it after my post.