相关论文: A Simple Search Problem

We study a contest in which $N$ players sequentially draw from a distribution as many times as they want at a fixed cost per draw, with no recall, and the highest accepted value wins a prize. In the unique symmetric equilibrium, the…

BPS, the Bayesian Problem Solver, applies probabilistic inference and decision-theoretic control to flexible, resource-constrained problem-solving. This paper focuses on the Bayesian inference mechanism in BPS, and contrasts it with those…

I introduce and study a nested search problem modeled as a tree structure that generalizes Weitzman (1979) in two ways: (1) search progresses incrementally, reflecting real-life scenarios where agents gradually acquire information about the…

We consider a class of restless bandit problems that finds a broad application area in reinforcement learning and stochastic optimization. We consider $N$ independent discrete-time Markov processes, each of which had two possible states: 1…

Algorithms with (machine-learned) predictions is a powerful framework for combining traditional worst-case algorithms with modern machine learning. However, the vast majority of work in this space assumes that the prediction itself is…

Suppose that $n$ items arrive online in random order and the goal is to select $k$ of them such that the expected sum of the selected items is maximized. The decision for any item is irrevocable and must be made on arrival without knowing…

Abstraction and realization are bilateral processes that are key in deriving intelligence and creativity. In many domains, the two processes are approached through rules: high-level principles that reveal invariances within similar yet…

In this paper we revisit the notion of simplicity in mechanisms. We consider a seller of $m$ items, facing a single buyer with valuation $v$. We observe that previous attempts to define complexity measures often fail to classify mechanisms…

This work is a numerical experiment of stochastic motion of conservative Hamiltonian system or weakly damped Brownian particles. The objective is to prove the existence of path probability and to compute its values. By observing a large…

The problem of assigning probabilities when little is known is analized in the case where the quanities of interest are physical observables, i.e. can be measured and their values expressed by numbers. It is pointed out that the assignment…

A Condorcet voting scheme chooses a winning candidate as one who defeats all others in pairwise majority rule. We provide a review which includes the rigorous mathematical treatment for calculating the limiting probability of a Condorcet…

We consider a two-player search game on a tree $T$. One vertex (unknown to the players) is randomly selected as the target. The players alternately guess vertices. If a guess $v$ is not the target, then both players are informed in which…

The problem of completing a large matrix with lots of missing entries has received widespread attention in the last couple of decades. Two popular approaches to the matrix completion problem are based on singular value thresholding and…

Consider the commonly known puzzle, given $k$ glass balls, find an optimal algorithm to determine the lowest floor of a building of $n$ floors from which a thrown glass ball will break. This puzzle was originally posed in its original form…

It is known that point searching in basic semialgebraic sets and the search for globally minimal points in polynomial optimization tasks can be carried out using $(s\,d)^{O(n)}$ arithmetic operations, where $n$ and $s$ are the numbers of…

We quantify the value of the monopoly's bargaining power in terms of competition complexity--that is, the number of additional bidders the monopoly must attract in simple auctions to match the expected revenue of the optimal mechanisms…

Motivated by a problem in the theory of randomized search heuristics, we give a very precise analysis for the coupon collector problem where the collector starts with a random set of coupons (chosen uniformly from all sets). We show that…

Given a weighted, ordered query set $Q$ and a partition of $Q$ into classes, we study the problem of computing a minimum-cost decision tree that, given any query $q$ in $Q$, uses equality tests and less-than comparisons to determine the…

We formulate and study a statistical version of Katona's two-round search problem of finding at least one excellent element in a set. A population of $n$ elements is considered, where each element is independently excellent with probability…

In a recent work, Esmer et al. describe a simple method - Approximate Monotone Local Search - to obtain exponential approximation algorithms from existing parameterized exact algorithms, polynomial-time approximation algorithms and, more…