Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-computer-science-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/computational-learning-theory/1/d/iii/solution
Past exam of the computer science course of the University of Oxford 2015 Computational learning theory 1 d iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
An affine linear classifier in has VC dimension . The upper bound follows from the intersecting convex hull partition theorem: for any points, label the two parts oppositely. The two convex hulls cannot be strictly separated by an affine hyperplane, since they intersect. A weak boundary convention gives the same contradiction: an affine score is nonnegative on the positive convex hull and strictly negative on the negative convex hull. The lower bound comes from the affinely independent vertices of a simplex, because an affine score can interpolate arbitrary signs there.
Consequently, parts (i) and (ii) immediately giveThe one-sided orientation of the lifted separators permits the sharper, exact conclusionTo prove the remaining upper bound, take any distinct points and a nonzero affine dependence as in part (c). Write . Reverse every coefficient if necessary so that . Prescribe positive labels when and negative labels when ; zero coefficients may be labelled arbitrarily. If a Euclidean ball realized these labels, its score would satisfyIndeed, every positive-coefficient term is nonnegative and every negative-coefficient term is strictly positive, with at least one of the latter. On the other hand, expanding the score and using the two affine dependence identities givesa contradiction. No points are shattered, completing the exact determination of the VC dimension of Euclidean balls. In the exceptional zero-dimensional Euclidean space, every positive-radius Euclidean ball is the whole singleton space, so the VC dimension is zero.
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