Describes the probability of an event, based on prior knowledge of conditions that might be related to the event.
- One of the many applications of Bayes' theorem is Bayesian inference.
- Bayesian inference is fundamental to Bayesian statistics.
- P ( A | B ) is a conditional probability: the probability of event A occurring given that B is true.
posterior probability of A given B. - P ( B ∣ A ) is also a conditional probability: the probability of event B occurring given that A is true.
the likelihood of A given a fixed B because P ( B ∣ A ) = L ( A ∣ B ). - P ( A ) and P ( B ) are the probabilities of observing A and B respectively without any given conditions;
the marginal probability or prior probability. - A and B must be different events.
Probability vs. Likelihood
- Probability is the percentage that a success occur. (probability of x (given θ))
- Likelihood is the probability (conditional probability) of an event (a set of success) occur by knowing the probability of a success occur. (given that x was observed)
* Probability attaches to possible results; likelihood attaches to hypotheses.
* Probability refers to the occurrence of future events, while a likelihood refers to past events with known outcomes.