Priors can be considered weak or strong depending on how concentrated the probability density in the prior is. 

• Weak prior: with high entropy and high freedom to change parameters and allows the data to move the parameters more or less freely. E.g., Gaussian distribution with large variance.

• Strong prior: has low entropy and low freedom to change parameters and plays a more active role in determining where the parameters end. E.g., Gaussian distribution with small variance


Weak and Strong Priors

A prior probability distribution is a probability distribution over the parameters of a model that encodes our beliefs about what models are reasonable, before we have seen any data.

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Common probability distributions include Normal Distribution, Multinoulli Distribution,  Bernoulli Probability Distribution, Exponential Distribution, and Laplace Distribution. 

Common Probability Distributions

Goodfellow, I., Bengio, Y., & Courville, A. (2016). $\mathit{Deep \ Learning.}$ MIT Press. Retrieved from [www.deeplearningbook.org](https://www.deeplearningbook.org) 

Deep Learning

Bernoulli distribution is a distribution over a single binary variable. It can only have results in 0 or 1. The sum of the probability of 0  and the probability of 1 is equal to 1. If we denote the probability of 0 as $\sigma$, Bernoulli distribution then has a mean of $\sigma$ and a variance of  $\sigma * (1- \sigma)$.

Bernoulli Distribution

Laplace distribution also called double exponential distribution has a sharp bend at random values of  $\mu$

$$Laplace(x;\mu,\gamma)= \frac{1}{2 \gamma} e^{\frac{ - \lvert x - \mu \rvert}{\gamma}}$$


Laplace Distribution

The curve of probability density function of exponential distribution  has a sharp bend at x=0.

Probability density function of exponential distribution is given by

$$p(x;\lambda)=\lambda \mathbf{1}_{x\geq0} e^{-\lambda x}$$

For all negative values of x, $\mathbf{1}_{x\geq0}$ an indicator function assigns zero probability.

Exponential Distribution

Inorder to showcase a probability distribution where the mass can be concentrated at a single point,the probability density function is defined by dirac delta function $\delta(x)$.

The dirac delta function is zero everywhere except at x=0 and it has an area of one.

p{x) = $\delta(x-\mu)$,this equation explains that the function p(x) is having infinitemosuly large value at $x=\mu$ with unit area


Dirac Distribution

Empirical distribution  showcases the empirical frequency associated with a point/sample in the dataset/set of samples.

$\hat{p}(x) = \frac{1}{m} \sum_{i=1}^{m} \delta (x-x^i)$

The dirac delta function is used to describe the empirical distribution of continuous random variables.

Multinoulli distribution is sufficient to explain the empirical distribution of discrete random variables.


Empirical Distribution

Mixture distribution is a combination of several other probability distributions.

Mixture Distribution


There are some functions used while describing probability distribution in deep learning models they are
- Logistic Sigmoid
- Softplus Function


Properties of Common Functions

prior probability distribution

A normal distribution, also known as a Gaussian distribution, is a continuous probability distribution defined by its mean $$\mu$$ and variance $$\sigma^2$$ (where $$\sigma$$ is the standard deviation). The probability density function is given by the formula: $$p(x) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2 \pi \sigma^2}} \exp\left(-\frac{1}{2 \sigma^2} (x - \mu)^2ight)$$. Changing the mean $$\mu$$ corresponds to a shift of the distribution along the $$x$$-axis, while increasing the variance $$\sigma^2$$ spreads the distribution out and lowers its peak.

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