Related papers: k-flaw Preference Sets
\textit{Clustering problems} often arise in the fields like data mining, machine learning etc. to group a collection of objects into similar groups with respect to a similarity (or dissimilarity) measure. Among the clustering problems,…
Given a set $A$ of $n$ people and a set $B$ of $m \geq n$ items, with each person having a list that ranks his/her preferred items in order of preference, we want to match every person with a unique item. A matching $M$ is called popular if…
Many graph problems were first shown to be fixed-parameter tractable using the results of Robertson and Seymour on graph minors. We show that the combination of finite, computable, obstruction sets and efficient order tests is not just one…
Given a set $S$ of $n$ points in $\mathbb{R}^d$, a $k$-set is a subset of $k$ points of $S$ that can be strictly separated by a hyperplane from the remaining $n-k$ points. Similarly, one may consider $k$-facets, which are hyperplanes that…
The $k$-set agreement problem is a generalization of the classical consensus problem in which processes are permitted to output up to $k$ different input values. In a system of $n$ processes, an $m$-obstruction-free solution to the problem…
We study the problem of ranking a set of items from nonactively chosen pairwise preferences where each item has feature information with it. We propose and characterize a very broad class of preference matrices giving rise to the Feature…
Preference optimization methods have been successfully applied to improve not only the alignment of large language models (LLMs) with human values, but also specific natural language tasks such as summarization and stylistic continuations.…
This paper describes an algorithm for the computation of FIRST and FOLLOW sets for use with feature-theoretic grammars in which the value of the sets consists of pairs of feature-theoretic categories. The algorithm preserves as much…
A backdoor set is a set of variables of a propositional formula such that fixing the truth values of the variables in the backdoor set moves the formula into some polynomial-time decidable class. If we know a small backdoor set we can…
We explore the top-$K$ rank aggregation problem. Suppose a collection of items is compared in pairs repeatedly, and we aim to recover a consistent ordering that focuses on the top-$K$ ranked items based on partially revealed preference…
We study the number of queries needed to identify a monotone Boolean function $f:\{0,1\}^n \rightarrow \{0,1\}$. A query consists of a 0-1-sequence, and the answer is the value of $f$ on that sequence. It is well-known that the number of…
Iterated function systems (IFS) can be a surprisingly useful tool for studying structure in data. Here we present results stemming from a 2013 computational study by the author using IFS. The results include fractal patterns that reveal…
A pair $(G,K)$ of a group and its subgroup is called a Gelfand pair if the induced trivial representation of $K$ on $G$ is multiplicity free. Let $(a_j)$ be a sequence of positive integers of length $n$, and let $(b_i)$ be its…
We speculate on the distribution of primes in exponentially growing, linear recurrence sequences $(u_n)_{n\geq 0}$ in the integers. By tweaking a heuristic which is successfully used to predict the number of prime values of polynomials, we…
We consider the classical $k$-means clustering problem in the setting bi-criteria approximation, in which an algoithm is allowed to output $\beta k > k$ clusters, and must produce a clustering with cost at most $\alpha$ times the to the…
As language models (LMs) become more capable, it is increasingly important to align them with human preferences. However, the dominant paradigm for training Preference Models (PMs) for that purpose suffers from fundamental limitations, such…
Ensuring AI models align with human values is essential for their safety and functionality. Reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) leverages human preferences to achieve this alignment. However, when preferences are sourced from…
Unit-interval parking functions are subset of parking functions in which cars park at most one spot away from their preferred parking spot. In this paper, we characterize unit-interval parking functions by understanding how they decompose…
For $0\leq k\leq n-1$, we introduce a family of $k$-skeletal paths which are counted by the $n$-th Catalan number for each $k$, and specialize to Dyck paths when $k=n-1$. We similarly introduce $k$-skeletal parking functions which are…
This paper reports results of a network theory approach to the study of the United States patent system. We model the patent citation network as a discrete time, discrete space stochastic dynamic system. From data on more than 2 million…