What is the z-score and how is it used in machine learning?

What is the z-score and how is it used in machine learning?

The z-score measures how many standard deviations an element is from the mean. In machine learning, it's used for normalization.

Why is normalization important in machine learning?

Normalization helps to ensure that features contribute equally to the distance calculations, improving model performance.

Can you give me an example of how to calculate a z-score?

Sure! The z-score is calculated as (X - μ) / σ, where X is the value, μ is the mean, and σ is the standard deviation.

What are some common applications of z-scores in machine learning?

Z-scores are commonly used in anomaly detection, feature scaling, and in algorithms like k-means clustering.