Chapter 7 - Ulysses’ Compass

This week began with the problem of overfitting, a universal phenomenon by which models with more parameters fit a sample better, even when the additional parameters are meaningless. Two common tools were introduced to address overfitting: regularizing priors and estimates of out-of-sample accuracy (WAIC and PSIS). Regularizing priors reduce overfitting during estimation, and WAIC and PSIS help estimate the degree of overfitting. Practical functions compare in the rethinking package were introduced to help analyze collections of models fit to the same data. If you are after causal estimates, then these tools will mislead you. So models must be designed through some other method, not selected on the basis of out-of-sample predictive accuracy. But any causal estimate will still overfit the sample. So you always have to worry about overfitting, measuring it with WAIC/PSIS and reducing it with regularization.

Place each answer inside the code chunk (grey box). The code chunks should contain a text response or a code that completes/answers the question or activity requested. Make sure to include plots if the question requests them.

Finally, upon completion, name your final output .html file as: YourName_ANLY505-Year-Semester.html and publish the assignment to your R Pubs account and submit the link to Canvas. Each question is worth 5 points.

Questions

7-1. When comparing models with an information criterion, why must all models be fit to exactly the same observations? What would happen to the information criterion values, if the models were fit to different numbers of observations? Perform some simulations.

library(rethinking)
data(Howell1)
set.seed(6)
d <- Howell1[complete.cases(Howell1), ]
d_500 <- d[sample(1:nrow(d), size = 500, replace = FALSE), ]
d_400 <- d[sample(1:nrow(d), size = 400, replace = FALSE), ]
d_300 <- d[sample(1:nrow(d), size = 300, replace = FALSE), ]
m_500 <- map(
  alist(
    height ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a + b * log(weight)
  ),
  data = d_500,
  start = list(a = mean(d_500$height), b = 0, sigma = sd(d_500$height))
)
m_400 <- map(
  alist(
    height ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a + b * log(weight)
  ),
  data = d_400,
  start = list(a = mean(d_400$height), b = 0, sigma = sd(d_400$height))
)
m_300 <- map(
  alist(
    height ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a + b * log(weight)
  ),
  data = d_300,
  start = list(a = mean(d_300$height), b = 0, sigma = sd(d_300$height))
)
(model.compare <- compare(m_500, m_400, m_300))
##           WAIC       SE     dWAIC      dSE    pWAIC        weight
## m_300 1862.175 27.91431    0.0000       NA 3.437152  1.000000e+00
## m_400 2419.639 33.94881  557.4644 46.34780 3.442396 8.874615e-122
## m_500 3054.604 35.32283 1192.4289 53.17046 3.257117 1.167789e-259

7-2. What happens to the effective number of parameters, as measured by PSIS or WAIC, as a prior becomes more concentrated? Why? Perform some simulations (at least 4).

data <- Howell1[complete.cases(Howell1), ]
data$height_std <- (log(data$height) - mean (log(data$height))) / sd(log(data$height))
data$weight_std <- (log(data$weight) - mean (log(data$weight))) / sd(log(data$weight))


m1 <- map(
  alist(
    height_std ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a + b * weight_std,
    a ~ dnorm(0, 10),
    b ~ dnorm(1, 10),
    sigma ~ dunif(0, 10)
  ),
  data = data
)
m2 <- map(
  alist(
    height_std ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a + b * weight_std,
    a ~ dnorm(0, 1),
    b ~ dnorm(1, 1),
    sigma ~ dunif(0, 1)
  ),
  data = data
)
WAIC(m1, refresh = 0)
##        WAIC     lppd penalty std_err
## 1 -102.7631 55.62747 4.24594 36.5361
WAIC(m2, refresh = 0)
##        WAIC     lppd  penalty  std_err
## 1 -102.7109 55.62624 4.270777 36.46584
PSIS(m1)
##        PSIS     lppd  penalty  std_err
## 1 -102.5858 51.29288 4.363906 36.50849
PSIS(m2)
##       PSIS     lppd  penalty  std_err
## 1 -102.656 51.32801 4.299804 36.57027

7-3. Consider three fictional Polynesian islands. On each there is a Royal Ornithologist charged by the king with surveying the bird population. They have each found the following proportions of 5 important bird species:

height weight age male
151.7650 47.825606 63.00 1
139.7000 36.485807 63.00 0
136.5250 31.864838 65.00 0
156.8450 53.041914 41.00 1
145.4150 41.276872 51.00 0
163.8300 62.992589 35.00 1
149.2250 38.243476 32.00 0
168.9100 55.479971 27.00 1
147.9550 34.869885 19.00 0
165.1000 54.487739 54.00 1
154.3050 49.895120 47.00 0
151.1300 41.220173 66.00 1
144.7800 36.032215 73.00 0
149.9000 47.700000 20.00 0
150.4950 33.849303 65.30 0
163.1950 48.562694 36.00 1
157.4800 42.325803 44.00 1
143.9418 38.356873 31.00 0
121.9200 19.617854 12.00 1
105.4100 13.947954 8.00 0
86.3600 10.489315 6.50 0
161.2900 48.987936 39.00 1
156.2100 42.722696 29.00 0
129.5400 23.586784 13.00 1
109.2200 15.989118 7.00 0
146.4000 35.493574 56.00 1
148.5900 37.903281 45.00 0
147.3200 35.465224 19.00 0
137.1600 27.328918 17.00 1
125.7300 22.679600 16.00 0
114.3000 17.860185 11.00 1
147.9550 40.312989 29.00 1
161.9250 55.111428 30.00 1
146.0500 37.506388 24.00 0
146.0500 38.498621 35.00 0
152.7048 46.606578 33.00 0
142.8750 38.838815 27.00 0
142.8750 35.578623 32.00 0
147.9550 47.400364 36.00 0
160.6550 47.882306 24.00 1
151.7650 49.413179 30.00 1
162.8648 49.384829 24.00 1
171.4500 56.557252 52.00 1
147.3200 39.122310 42.00 0
147.9550 49.895120 19.00 0
144.7800 28.803092 17.00 0
121.9200 20.411640 8.00 1
128.9050 23.359988 12.00 0
97.7900 13.267566 5.00 0
154.3050 41.248522 55.00 1
143.5100 38.555320 43.00 0
146.7000 42.400000 20.00 1
157.4800 44.650463 18.00 1
127.0000 22.010552 13.00 1
110.4900 15.422128 9.00 0
97.7900 12.757275 5.00 0
165.7350 58.598416 42.00 1
152.4000 46.719976 44.00 0
141.6050 44.225220 60.00 0
158.8000 50.900000 20.00 0
155.5750 54.317642 37.00 0
164.4650 45.897841 50.00 1
151.7650 48.024053 50.00 0
161.2900 52.219779 31.00 1
154.3050 47.627160 25.00 0
145.4150 45.642695 23.00 0
145.4150 42.410852 52.00 0
152.4000 36.485807 79.30 1
163.8300 55.933563 35.00 1
144.1450 37.194544 27.00 0
129.5400 24.550667 13.00 1
129.5400 25.627948 14.00 0
153.6700 48.307548 38.00 1
142.8750 37.336292 39.00 0
146.0500 29.596878 12.00 0
167.0050 47.173568 30.00 1
158.4198 47.286966 24.00 0
91.4400 12.927372 0.60 1
165.7350 57.549485 51.00 1
149.8600 37.931631 46.00 0
147.9550 41.900561 17.00 0
137.7950 27.584063 12.00 0
154.9400 47.201918 22.00 0
160.9598 43.204638 29.00 1
161.9250 50.263663 38.00 1
147.9550 39.377456 30.00 0
113.6650 17.463292 6.00 1
159.3850 50.689000 45.00 1
148.5900 39.434154 47.00 0
136.5250 36.287360 79.00 0
158.1150 46.266384 45.00 1
144.7800 42.269104 54.00 0
156.8450 47.627160 31.00 1
179.0700 55.706767 23.00 1
118.7450 18.824068 9.00 0
170.1800 48.562694 41.00 1
146.0500 42.807745 23.00 0
147.3200 35.068331 36.00 0
113.0300 17.888534 5.00 1
162.5600 56.755699 30.00 0
133.9850 27.442316 12.00 1
152.4000 51.255896 34.00 0
160.0200 47.230267 44.00 1
149.8600 40.936678 43.00 0
142.8750 32.715323 73.30 0
167.0050 57.067543 38.00 1
159.3850 42.977842 43.00 1
154.9400 39.944446 33.00 0
148.5900 32.460178 16.00 0
111.1250 17.123098 11.00 1
111.7600 16.499409 6.00 1
162.5600 45.954540 35.00 1
152.4000 41.106775 29.00 0
124.4600 18.257078 12.00 0
111.7600 15.081934 9.00 1
86.3600 11.481547 7.60 1
170.1800 47.598810 58.00 1
146.0500 37.506388 53.00 0
159.3850 45.019006 51.00 1
151.1300 42.269104 48.00 0
160.6550 54.856282 29.00 1
169.5450 53.523856 41.00 1
158.7500 52.191429 81.75 1
74.2950 9.752228 1.00 1
149.8600 42.410852 35.00 0
153.0350 49.583275 46.00 0
96.5200 13.097469 5.00 1
161.9250 41.730464 29.00 1
162.5600 56.018612 42.00 1
149.2250 42.155707 27.00 0
116.8400 19.391058 8.00 0
100.0760 15.081934 6.00 1
163.1950 53.098613 22.00 1
161.9250 50.235314 43.00 1
145.4150 42.524250 53.00 0
163.1950 49.101334 43.00 1
151.1300 38.498621 41.00 0
150.4950 49.810071 50.00 0
141.6050 29.313383 15.00 1
170.8150 59.760746 33.00 1
91.4400 11.708343 3.00 0
157.4800 47.939005 62.00 1
152.4000 39.292407 49.00 0
149.2250 38.130077 17.00 1
129.5400 21.999212 12.00 0
147.3200 36.882700 22.00 0
145.4150 42.127357 29.00 0
121.9200 19.787951 8.00 0
113.6650 16.782904 5.00 1
157.4800 44.565414 33.00 1
154.3050 47.853956 34.00 0
120.6500 21.177076 12.00 0
115.6000 18.900000 7.00 1
167.0050 55.196477 42.00 1
142.8750 32.998818 40.00 0
152.4000 40.879979 27.00 0
96.5200 13.267566 3.00 0
160.0000 51.200000 25.00 1
159.3850 49.044635 29.00 1
149.8600 53.438808 45.00 0
160.6550 54.090846 26.00 1
160.6550 55.366574 45.00 1
149.2250 42.240755 45.00 0
125.0950 22.367756 11.00 0
140.9700 40.936678 85.60 0
154.9400 49.696674 26.00 1
141.6050 44.338618 24.00 0
160.0200 45.954540 57.00 1
150.1648 41.957260 22.00 0
155.5750 51.482692 24.00 0
103.5050 12.757275 6.00 0
94.6150 13.012420 4.00 0
156.2100 44.111822 21.00 0
153.0350 32.205032 79.00 0
167.0050 56.755699 50.00 1
149.8600 52.673371 40.00 0
147.9550 36.485807 64.00 0
159.3850 48.846188 32.00 1
161.9250 56.954146 38.70 1
155.5750 42.099007 26.00 0
159.3850 50.178615 63.00 1
146.6850 46.549879 62.00 0
172.7200 61.801910 22.00 1
166.3700 48.987936 41.00 1
141.6050 31.524644 19.00 1
142.8750 32.205032 17.00 0
133.3500 23.756881 14.00 0
127.6350 24.408919 9.00 1
119.3800 21.517270 7.00 1
151.7650 35.295127 74.00 0
156.8450 45.642695 41.00 1
148.5900 43.885026 33.00 0
157.4800 45.557646 53.00 0
149.8600 39.008912 18.00 0
147.9550 41.163474 37.00 0
102.2350 13.125818 6.00 0
153.0350 45.245802 61.00 0
160.6550 53.637254 44.00 1
149.2250 52.304828 35.00 0
114.3000 18.342126 7.00 1
100.9650 13.749507 4.00 1
138.4300 39.093961 23.00 0
91.4400 12.530479 4.00 1
162.5600 45.699394 55.00 1
149.2250 40.398038 53.00 0
158.7500 51.482692 59.00 1
149.8600 38.668718 57.00 0
158.1150 39.235708 35.00 1
156.2100 44.338618 29.00 0
148.5900 39.519203 62.00 1
143.5100 31.071052 18.00 0
154.3050 46.776675 51.00 0
131.4450 22.509503 14.00 0
157.4800 40.624834 19.00 1
157.4800 50.178615 42.00 1
154.3050 41.276872 25.00 0
107.9500 17.576690 6.00 1
168.2750 54.600000 41.00 1
145.4150 44.990657 37.00 0
147.9550 44.735511 16.00 0
100.9650 14.401546 5.00 1
113.0300 19.050864 9.00 1
149.2250 35.805419 82.00 1
154.9400 45.217453 28.00 1
162.5600 48.109102 50.00 1
156.8450 45.671045 43.00 0
123.1900 20.808533 8.00 1
161.0106 48.420946 31.00 1
144.7800 41.191823 67.00 0
143.5100 38.413573 39.00 0
149.2250 42.127357 18.00 0
110.4900 17.661738 11.00 0
149.8600 38.243476 48.00 0
165.7350 48.335898 30.00 1
144.1450 38.923864 64.00 0
157.4800 40.029494 72.00 1
154.3050 50.206964 68.00 0
163.8300 54.289293 44.00 1
156.2100 45.600000 43.00 0
153.6700 40.766581 16.00 0
134.6200 27.130471 13.00 0
144.1450 39.434154 34.00 0
114.3000 20.496689 10.00 0
162.5600 43.204638 62.00 1
146.0500 31.864838 44.00 0
120.6500 20.893581 11.00 1
154.9400 45.444249 31.00 1
144.7800 38.045029 29.00 0
106.6800 15.989118 8.00 0
146.6850 36.088913 62.00 0
152.4000 40.879979 67.00 0
163.8300 47.910655 57.00 1
165.7350 47.712209 32.00 1
156.2100 46.379782 24.00 0
152.4000 41.163474 77.00 1
140.3350 36.599204 62.00 0
158.1150 43.091240 17.00 1
163.1950 48.137451 67.00 1
151.1300 36.712603 70.00 0
171.1198 56.557252 37.00 1
149.8600 38.697068 58.00 0
163.8300 47.485413 35.00 1
141.6050 36.202312 30.00 0
93.9800 14.288148 5.00 0
149.2250 41.276872 26.00 0
105.4100 15.223681 5.00 0
146.0500 44.763860 21.00 0
161.2900 50.433760 41.00 1
162.5600 55.281525 46.00 1
145.4150 37.931631 49.00 0
145.4150 35.493574 15.00 1
170.8150 58.456669 28.00 1
127.0000 21.488921 12.00 0
159.3850 44.423667 83.00 0
159.4000 44.400000 54.00 1
153.6700 44.565414 54.00 0
160.0200 44.622113 68.00 1
150.4950 40.483086 68.00 0
149.2250 44.083472 56.00 0
127.0000 24.408919 15.00 0
142.8750 34.416293 57.00 0
142.1130 32.772022 22.00 0
147.3200 35.947166 40.00 0
162.5600 49.554900 19.00 1
164.4650 53.183662 41.00 1
160.0200 37.081146 75.90 1
153.6700 40.511435 73.90 0
167.0050 50.603857 49.00 1
151.1300 43.970075 26.00 1
147.9550 33.792604 17.00 0
125.3998 21.375523 13.00 0
111.1250 16.669506 8.00 0
153.0350 49.890000 88.00 1
139.0650 33.594158 68.00 0
152.4000 43.856676 33.00 1
154.9400 48.137451 26.00 0
147.9550 42.751046 56.00 0
143.5100 34.841535 16.00 1
117.9830 24.097075 13.00 0
144.1450 33.906002 34.00 0
92.7100 12.076887 5.00 0
147.9550 41.276872 17.00 0
155.5750 39.717650 74.00 1
150.4950 35.947166 69.00 0
155.5750 50.915702 50.00 1
154.3050 45.756093 44.00 0
130.6068 25.259404 15.00 0
101.6000 15.337079 5.00 0
157.4800 49.214732 18.00 0
168.9100 58.825212 41.00 1
150.4950 43.459784 27.00 0
111.7600 17.831836 8.90 1
160.0200 51.964633 38.00 1
167.6400 50.688906 57.00 1
144.1450 34.246196 64.50 0
145.4150 39.377456 42.00 0
160.0200 59.562300 24.00 1
147.3200 40.312989 16.00 1
164.4650 52.163080 71.00 1
153.0350 39.972795 49.50 0
149.2250 43.941725 33.00 1
160.0200 54.601137 28.00 0
149.2250 45.075705 47.00 0
85.0900 11.453198 3.00 1
84.4550 11.765042 1.00 1
59.6138 5.896696 1.00 0
92.7100 12.105237 3.00 1
111.1250 18.313777 6.00 0
90.8050 11.368149 5.00 0
153.6700 41.333571 27.00 0
99.6950 16.244263 5.00 0
62.4840 6.803880 1.00 0
81.9150 11.878440 2.00 1
96.5200 14.968536 2.00 0
80.0100 9.865626 1.00 1
150.4950 41.900561 55.00 0
151.7650 42.524000 83.40 1
140.6398 28.859791 12.00 1
88.2650 12.785625 2.00 0
158.1150 43.147939 63.00 1
149.2250 40.823280 52.00 0
151.7650 42.864444 49.00 1
154.9400 46.209685 31.00 0
123.8250 20.581737 9.00 0
104.1400 15.875720 6.00 0
161.2900 47.853956 35.00 1
148.5900 42.524250 35.00 0
97.1550 17.066399 7.00 0
93.3450 13.182517 5.00 1
160.6550 48.505994 24.00 1
157.4800 45.869491 41.00 1
167.0050 52.900167 32.00 1
157.4800 47.570461 43.00 1
91.4400 12.927372 6.00 0
60.4520 5.669900 1.00 1
137.1600 28.916490 15.00 1
152.4000 43.544832 63.00 0
152.4000 43.431434 21.00 0
81.2800 11.509897 1.00 1
109.2200 11.708343 2.00 0
71.1200 7.540967 1.00 1
89.2048 12.700576 3.00 0
67.3100 7.200773 1.00 0
85.0900 12.360382 1.00 1
69.8500 7.796112 1.00 0
161.9250 53.212012 55.00 0
152.4000 44.678812 38.00 0
88.9000 12.558829 3.00 1
90.1700 12.700576 3.00 1
71.7550 7.370870 1.00 0
83.8200 9.213587 1.00 0
159.3850 47.201918 28.00 1
142.2400 28.632995 16.00 0
142.2400 31.666391 36.00 0
168.9100 56.443855 38.00 1
123.1900 20.014747 12.00 1
74.9300 8.504850 1.00 1
74.2950 8.306404 1.00 0
90.8050 11.623295 3.00 0
160.0200 55.791816 48.00 1
67.9450 7.966209 1.00 0
135.8900 27.215520 15.00 0
158.1150 47.485413 45.00 1
85.0900 10.801160 3.00 1
93.3450 14.004653 3.00 0
152.4000 45.160753 38.00 0
155.5750 45.529297 21.00 0
154.3050 48.874538 50.00 0
156.8450 46.578229 41.00 1
120.0150 20.128145 13.00 0
114.3000 18.143680 8.00 1
83.8200 10.914558 3.00 1
156.2100 43.885026 30.00 0
137.1600 27.158821 12.00 1
114.3000 19.050864 7.00 1
93.9800 13.834556 4.00 0
168.2750 56.046962 21.00 1
147.9550 40.086193 38.00 0
139.7000 26.563482 15.00 1
157.4800 50.802304 19.00 0
76.2000 9.213587 1.00 1
66.0400 7.569317 1.00 1
160.7000 46.300000 31.00 1
114.3000 19.419407 8.00 0
146.0500 37.903281 16.00 1
161.2900 49.356479 21.00 1
69.8500 7.314171 0.00 0
133.9850 28.151053 13.00 1
67.9450 7.824462 0.00 1
150.4950 44.111822 50.00 0
163.1950 51.029100 39.00 1
148.5900 40.766581 44.00 1
148.5900 37.563088 36.00 0
161.9250 51.596090 36.00 1
153.6700 44.820560 18.00 0
68.5800 8.022908 0.00 0
151.1300 43.403084 58.00 0
163.8300 46.719976 58.00 1
153.0350 39.547553 33.00 0
151.7650 34.784836 21.50 0
132.0800 22.792998 11.00 1
156.2100 39.292407 26.00 1
140.3350 37.449689 22.00 0
158.7500 48.676091 28.00 1
142.8750 35.606972 42.00 0
84.4550 9.383684 2.00 1
151.9428 43.714929 21.00 1
161.2900 48.194150 19.00 1
127.9906 29.852024 13.00 1
160.9852 50.972401 48.00 1
144.7800 43.998424 46.00 0
132.0800 28.292801 11.00 1
117.9830 20.354941 8.00 1
160.0200 48.194150 25.00 1
154.9400 39.179009 16.00 1
160.9852 46.691626 51.00 1
165.9890 56.415505 25.00 1
157.9880 48.591043 28.00 1
154.9400 48.222499 26.00 0
97.9932 13.295915 5.00 1
64.1350 6.662133 1.00 0
160.6550 47.485413 54.00 1
147.3200 35.550273 66.00 0
146.7000 36.600000 20.00 0
147.3200 48.959587 25.00 0
172.9994 51.255896 38.00 1
158.1150 46.521529 51.00 1
147.3200 36.967748 48.00 0
124.9934 25.117657 13.00 1
106.0450 16.272613 6.00 1
165.9890 48.647742 27.00 1
149.8600 38.045029 22.00 0
76.2000 8.504850 1.00 0
161.9250 47.286966 60.00 1
140.0048 28.349500 15.00 0
66.6750 8.136306 0.00 0
62.8650 7.200773 0.00 1
163.8300 55.394923 43.00 1
147.9550 32.488527 12.00 1
160.0200 54.204244 27.00 1
154.9400 48.477645 30.00 1
152.4000 43.062891 29.00 0
62.2300 7.257472 0.00 0
146.0500 34.189497 23.00 0
151.9936 49.951819 30.00 0
157.4800 41.305222 17.00 1
55.8800 4.847765 0.00 0
60.9600 6.236890 0.00 1
151.7650 44.338618 41.00 0
144.7800 33.452410 42.00 0
118.1100 16.896302 7.00 0
78.1050 8.221355 3.00 0
160.6550 47.286966 43.00 1
151.1300 46.124637 35.00 0
121.9200 20.184844 10.00 0
92.7100 12.757275 3.00 1
153.6700 47.400364 75.50 1
147.3200 40.851630 64.00 0
139.7000 50.348712 38.00 1
157.4800 45.132404 24.20 0
91.4400 11.623295 4.00 0
154.9400 42.240755 26.00 1
143.5100 41.645415 19.00 0
83.1850 9.156889 2.00 1
158.1150 45.217453 43.00 1
147.3200 51.255896 38.00 0
123.8250 21.205426 10.00 1
88.9000 11.594945 3.00 1
160.0200 49.271431 23.00 1
137.1600 27.952607 16.00 0
165.1000 51.199197 49.00 1
154.9400 43.856676 41.00 0
111.1250 17.690088 6.00 1
153.6700 35.521923 23.00 0
145.4150 34.246196 14.00 0
141.6050 42.885420 43.00 0
144.7800 32.545226 15.00 0
163.8300 46.776675 21.00 1
161.2900 41.872211 24.00 1
154.9000 38.200000 20.00 1
161.3000 43.300000 20.00 1
170.1800 53.637254 34.00 1
149.8600 42.977842 29.00 0
123.8250 21.545620 11.00 1
85.0900 11.424848 3.00 0
160.6550 39.774349 65.00 1
154.9400 43.346385 46.00 0
106.0450 15.478827 8.00 0
126.3650 21.914164 15.00 1
166.3700 52.673371 43.00 1
148.2852 38.441922 39.00 0
124.4600 19.277660 12.00 0
89.5350 11.113004 3.00 1
101.6000 13.494362 4.00 0
151.7650 42.807745 43.00 0
148.5900 35.890467 70.00 0
153.6700 44.225220 26.00 0
53.9750 4.252425 0.00 0
146.6850 38.073378 48.00 0
56.5150 5.159609 0.00 0
100.9650 14.316498 5.00 1
121.9200 23.218241 8.00 1
81.5848 10.659412 3.00 0
154.9400 44.111822 44.00 1
156.2100 44.026773 33.00 0
132.7150 24.975910 15.00 1
125.0950 22.594552 12.00 0
101.6000 14.344847 5.00 0
160.6550 47.882306 41.00 1
146.0500 39.405805 37.40 0
132.7150 24.777463 13.00 0
87.6300 10.659412 6.00 0
156.2100 41.050076 53.00 1
152.4000 40.823280 49.00 0
162.5600 47.031821 27.00 0
114.9350 17.519991 7.00 1
67.9450 7.229122 1.00 0
142.8750 34.246196 31.00 0
76.8350 8.022908 1.00 1
145.4150 31.127751 17.00 1
162.5600 52.163080 31.00 1
156.2100 54.062497 21.00 0
71.1200 8.051258 0.00 1
158.7500 52.531624 68.00 1

Notice that each row sums to 1, all the birds. This problem has two parts. It is not computationally complicated. But it is conceptually tricky. First, compute the entropy of each island’s bird distribution. Interpret these entropy values. Second, use each island’s bird distribution to predict the other two. This means to compute the KL divergence of each island from the others, treating each island as if it were a statistical model of the other islands. You should end up with 6 different KL divergence values. Which island predicts the others best? Why?

island1 <- c(0.2, 0.2, 0.2, 0.2, 0.2)
island2 <- c(0.8, 0.1, 0.05, 0.025, 0.025)
island3 <- c(0.05, 0.15, 0.7, 0.05, 0.05)

entropy1 <- -sum(island1 * log(island1))
entropy2 <- -sum(island2 * log(island2))
entropy3 <- -sum(island3 * log(island3))
entropy1
## [1] 1.609438
entropy2
## [1] 0.7430039
entropy3
## [1] 0.9836003
DKL <- function(p,q) sum( p*(log(p)-log(q)) )

Dm <- matrix( NA , nrow=3 , ncol=3 )
Dm[1,1] <- DKL (island1, island1)
Dm[1,2] <- DKL (island1, island2)
Dm[1,3] <- DKL (island1, island3)
Dm[2,1] <- DKL (island2, island1)
Dm[2,2] <- DKL (island2, island2)
Dm[2,3] <- DKL (island2, island3)
Dm[3,1] <- DKL (island3, island1)
Dm[3,2] <- DKL (island3, island2)
Dm[3,3] <- DKL (island3, island3)

Dm
##           [,1]      [,2]      [,3]
## [1,] 0.0000000 0.9704061 0.6387604
## [2,] 0.8664340 0.0000000 2.0109142
## [3,] 0.6258376 1.8388452 0.0000000
Island1 has the lowest divergence values and predicts the best

7-4. Recall the marriage, age, and happiness collider bias example from Chapter 6. Run models m6.9 and m6.10 again (page 178). Compare these two models using WAIC (or PSIS, they will produce identical results). Which model is expected to make better predictions? Which model provides the correct causal inference about the influence of age on happiness? Can you explain why the answers to these two questions disagree?

d <- sim_happiness(seed = 1977, N_years = 1000)
d2 <- d[d$age > 17, ] # only adults
d2$A <- (d2$age - 18) / (65 - 18)
d2$mid <- d2$married + 1
m6.9 <- quap(
  alist(
    happiness ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a[mid] + bA * A,
    a[mid] ~ dnorm(0, 1),
    bA ~ dnorm(0, 2),
    sigma ~ dexp(1)
  ),
  data = d2
)
m6.10 <- quap(
  alist(
    happiness ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a + bA * A,
    a ~ dnorm(0, 1),
    bA ~ dnorm(0, 2),
    sigma ~ dexp(1)
  ),
  data = d2
)
compare(m6.9, m6.10)
##           WAIC       SE    dWAIC      dSE    pWAIC       weight
## m6.9  2713.971 37.54465   0.0000       NA 3.738532 1.000000e+00
## m6.10 3101.906 27.74379 387.9347 35.40032 2.340445 5.768312e-85
Model 6.9 has a lower WAIC and Model 6.10 provides the correct causal inference about the effect of age on well-being.WAIC is more effective for measuring predictive ability rather than causal associations. Thus, the association between age and well-being leads to improved prediction.

7-5. Revisit the urban fox data, data(foxes), from the previous chapter’s practice problems. Use WAIC or PSIS based model comparison on five different models, each using weight as the outcome, and containing these sets of predictor variables:

  • avgfood + groupsize + area
  • avgfood + groupsize
  • groupsize + area
  • avgfood
  • area

Can you explain the relative differences in WAIC scores, using the fox DAG from the previous chapter? Be sure to pay attention to the standard error of the score differences (dSE).

data(foxes)
foxes$area <- scale(foxes$area)
foxes$avgfood <- scale(foxes$avgfood)
foxes$weight <- scale(foxes$weight)
foxes$groupsize <- scale(foxes$groupsize)
m1 <- quap(
  alist(
    weight ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a + bFood * avgfood + bGroup * groupsize + bArea * area,
    a ~ dnorm(0, .2),
    c(bFood, bGroup, bArea) ~ dnorm(0, 5),
    sigma ~ dexp(1)
  ),
  data = foxes
)
m2 <- quap(
  alist(
    weight ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a + bFood * avgfood + bGroup * groupsize,
    a ~ dnorm(0, .2),
    c(bFood, bGroup) ~ dnorm(0, 5),
    sigma ~ dexp(1)
  ),
  data = foxes
)
m3 <- quap(
  alist(
    weight ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a + bGroup * groupsize + bArea * area,
    a ~ dnorm(0, .2),
    c(bGroup, bArea) ~ dnorm(0, 5),
    sigma ~ dexp(1)
  ),
  data = foxes
)
m4 <- quap(
  alist(
    weight ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a + bFood * avgfood,
    a ~ dnorm(0, .2),
    bFood ~ dnorm(0, 5),
    sigma ~ dexp(1)
  ),
  data = foxes
)
m5 <- quap(
  alist(
    weight ~ dnorm(mu, sigma),
    mu <- a + bArea * area,
    a ~ dnorm(0, .2),
    bArea ~ dnorm(0, 5),
    sigma ~ dexp(1)
  ),
  data = foxes
)
compare(m1, m2, m3, m4, m5)
##        WAIC       SE      dWAIC      dSE    pWAIC      weight
## m1 323.2326 16.93241  0.0000000       NA 5.169070 0.416340180
## m2 323.8576 16.81225  0.6250217 3.887568 4.088241 0.304597680
## m3 324.0666 16.18771  0.8339840 4.211866 3.945774 0.274379088
## m4 333.4412 13.84628 10.2085563 8.696885 2.418544 0.002527484
## m5 333.7595 13.74596 10.5268978 8.758170 2.664246 0.002155567
The differences between models 1, 2 and 3 are not significant. However, we can see that models 1,2,3 are very different than models 4 and 5. In terms of standard errors, we can also jump to the same conclusion that models 1,2,3 are different from models 4 and 5. According to DAG, as long as we include the groupsize path, it does not make any difference if we use area or avgfood. Neither model 4 nor model 5 includes groupsize. but since avgfood and area contain most of the same information, they both show similar WAIC estimates.