On the Convergence Speed of MDL Predictions for Bernoulli Sequences

We consider the Minimum Description Length principle for online sequence prediction. If the underlying model class is discrete, then the total expected square loss is a particularly interesting performance measure: (a) this quantity is bounded, implying convergence with probability one, and (b) it additionally specifies a `rate of convergence'. Generally, for MDL only exponential loss bounds hold, as opposed to the linear bounds for a Bayes mixture. We show that this is even the case if the model class contains only Bernoulli distributions. We derive a new upper bound on the prediction error for countable Bernoulli classes. This implies a small bound (comparable to the one for Bayes mixtures) for certain important model classes. The results apply to many Machine Learning tasks including classification and hypothesis testing. We provide arguments that our theorems generalize to countable classes of i.i.d. models.Comment: 17 page

Strong Asymptotic Assertions for Discrete MDL in Regression and Classification

We study the properties of the MDL (or maximum penalized complexity) estimator for Regression and Classification, where the underlying model class is countable. We show in particular a finite bound on the Hellinger losses under the only assumption that there is a "true" model contained in the class. This implies almost sure convergence of the predictive distribution to the true one at a fast rate. It corresponds to Solomonoff's central theorem of universal induction, however with a bound that is exponentially larger.Comment: 6 two-column page

The Allotropic Transformation of Hafnium

The existence of an allotropic transformation in hafnium, suggested by Zwikker in 1926, has been confirmed. The transformation temperature is 1310±10°C. The high temperature beta-form is probably body-centered cubic