Generalization

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Generalization

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

noun

Pronunciation

jen-er-ul-eye-ZAY-shun  /ˌdʒɛn(ə)r(ə)lʌɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/

Definition

A general statement or conclusion drawn from specific cases; the process of forming general concepts from specific instances; (in machine learning) the ability of a trained model to perform well on new, unseen data.

Plain meaning

A generalization is a broad conclusion drawn from specific examples. Generalizations can be useful but oversimplified — not all members of a group behave the same way.

Register

Standard in academic, scientific, and philosophical contexts. Common in everyday critical discourse — don't make generalizations about people. Technical and precise in machine learning contexts.