Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2023/ii/paper-3/28k/c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 3 28K c Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For , let be the Bayes classifier with class-zero prior , and define its two class-conditional error probabilities byWriting the likelihood ratio as , the rule chooses class one whenThe Gaussian likelihood-ratio level sets have probability zero, so dominated convergence shows that and depend continuously on . As , the threshold tends to zero and the classifier chooses class one almost surely, givingAs , it chooses class zero almost surely, giving the opposite limit . The intermediate value theorem therefore provides such that
The rule is an equalizer rule with worst-case risk . For any classifier ,because minimizes the integrated risk for its prior. Hence is a minimax decision rule, as summarized by the minimax Gaussian Bayes classifier from equal class errors.
The prior is indeed least favorable. Its Bayes risk is , while for any other prior the Bayes risk is at most the integrated risk of the same equalizer rule , namelyThus no prior has larger Bayes risk.
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