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Enhance bias-variance trade-off explanation in machine learning interview questions by providing detailed definitions, examples, and strategies for managing the trade-off. Include a table summarizing the relationship between model complexity, bias, variance, and generalization.
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docs/machine_learning/interview_questions.md

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=== "Answer"
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The Bias-Variance trade-off refers to the trade-off between a model's ability to fit the training data well (low bias) and its ability to generalize well to new, unseen data (low variance). A model with high bias will underfit the training data, while a model with high variance will overfit the training data.
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The bias-variance trade-off is a key concept in machine learning that describes the balance between two types of errors affecting a model's ability to generalize:
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- **Bias**: Error from overly simplistic assumptions in the model. High bias can cause underfitting—poor performance on both training and test data.
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- **Variance**: Error from excessive sensitivity to small fluctuations in the training set. High variance can cause overfitting—good performance on training data but poor generalization to new data.
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As model complexity increases, bias decreases but variance increases. The goal is to find a balance: a model complex enough to capture patterns (low bias) but not so complex that it overfits (low variance).
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| Model Complexity | Bias | Variance | Generalization |
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|------------------|----------------|---------------|---------------------|
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| Too Simple | High (underfit)| Low | Poor |
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| Too Complex | Low | High (overfit)| Poor |
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| Just Right | Low/Moderate | Low/Moderate | Good |
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**Managing the trade-off:**
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- Use regularization to penalize complexity and reduce overfitting.
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- Use cross-validation to estimate model performance on unseen data.
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- Increasing training data can help reduce variance.
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**In summary:** The bias-variance trade-off is about finding the sweet spot where your model is neither too simple nor too complex, so it generalizes well to new data.
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!!! Question ""
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=== "Question"

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