An Introduction to Computational Learning Theory [Hardcover]

Michael J. Kearns (Author), Umesh Vazirani (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0262111934 | ISBN-13: 978-0262111935 | Publication Date: August 15, 1994

Emphasizing issues of computational efficiency, Michael Kearns and Umesh Vazirani introduce a number of central topics in computational learning theory for researchers and students in artificial intelligence, neural networks, theoretical computer science, and statistics.Computational learning theory is a new and rapidly expanding area of research that examines formal models of induction with the goals of discovering the common methods underlying efficient learning algorithms and identifying the computational impediments to learning.Each topic in the book has been chosen to elucidate a general principle, which is explored in a precise formal setting. Intuition has been emphasized in the presentation to make the material accessible to the nontheoretician while still providing precise arguments for the specialist. This balance is the result of new proofs of established theorems, and new presentations of the standard proofs.The topics covered include the motivation, definitions, and fundamental results, both positive and negative, for the widely studied L. G. Valiant model of Probably Approximately Correct Learning; Occam's Razor, which formalizes a relationship between learning and data compression; the Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension; the equivalence of weak and strong learning; efficient learning in the presence of noise by the method of statistical queries; relationships between learning and cryptography, and the resulting computational limitations on efficient learning; reducibility between learning problems; and algorithms for learning finite automata from active experimentation.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael J. Kearns is Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 221 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (August 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262111934
• ISBN-13: 978-0262111935
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence > Machine Learning
  • #29 in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence > Neural Networks
  • #32 in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence > Theory of Computing

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is interesting stuff, November 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: An Introduction to Computational Learning Theory (Hardcover)

Kearns is an impressive researcher, precise and succinct. The material on this book follows a tradition of careful proofs of fundamental issues in learning. I wouldn't think this is material of practical use; for that kind of material I'd recommend the new edition of Duda. Rather, Kearns is one of a team of researchers pushing the frontier of proving what is learnable and what is not, why some representations are good for learning and which are not, the dimensionality of the target problem (related to overfitting) working with prinpled definitions of what it is meant to learn borrowed from computational complexity theory.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It turns out that complexity theorists have something valuable to say..., January 9, 2009

By 

Shiva Kaul (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to Computational Learning Theory (Hardcover)

...about machine learning since learning algorithms are, in fact, algorithms. At a high level, computational learning theory answers the same sort of questions as statistical learning theory ("What kind of guarantees can I make about my learning procedure? In what situations is learning possible?") with different tools and methodology. Trade in your operator equations, modes of convergence, and support vectors for boolean formulae, complexity classes, and quadratic residues, but don't worry; the trade is temporary, since the theories are complementary, and short-lived, since the book is easy and quick to read. At well under 200 large-type pages, you can mow through it armed with little besides Big-O notation, basic probability, and a few (IID) samples of your favorite stimulant.

In return for your mild effort, you will be acquainted with the PAC model of learning and techniques for reasoning about tractability, sample size, connections to well-known problems, etc. The best material, in my opinion, relates to the importance of problem representation and methods for establishing the difficulty of efficient predictability. Even the most unsatisfying material (the treatment of Occam's razor and the description of VC dimension) isn't stale, and wasn't really bad to start; this, despite the book's age (15 years in a 25 year old subfield), is most probably* a testament to the book's value as an approachable introduction.

* (As usual, some positive probability is reserved to indict the field's lack of advancement. But not much).

1 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So far so good, October 3, 2008

By 

R. Smith - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to Computational Learning Theory (Hardcover)

The few chapters I have read of this book seem good. Good examples which is nice.