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Learning Theory Playbook

Use for generalization, uniform convergence, VC/Rademacher bounds, stability, PAC-Bayes, SGD-style convergence, and online-to-batch conversion.

Branch Split

  • Finite class: concentration for fixed hypothesis plus union bound.
  • Infinite class: symmetrization, Rademacher complexity, covering number, VC dimension, or contraction.
  • Stability: compare neighboring samples and bound generalization by stability.
  • PAC-Bayes: choose prior/posterior, KL term, change of measure.
  • Optimization-to-generalization: split excess risk into estimation plus optimization error.
  • Online-to-batch: convert regret to expected/statistical risk.

Smart Routes

  • Uniform claim from pointwise concentration: add union bound, covering, VC, or Rademacher step.
  • Adaptive/algorithm-dependent hypothesis: condition on sample carefully; use stability or PAC-Bayes.
  • Bound too loose: replace union bound with Rademacher/contraction or localized complexity.
  • High-probability missing: track failure probability and union over all events.
  • SGD proof stuck: separate optimization descent lemma from stochastic noise martingale.

Common Lemmas

  • Symmetrization.
  • Massart finite class lemma.
  • Sauer-Shelah growth bound.
  • Rademacher contraction.
  • McDiarmid/Azuma/Freedman concentration.
  • Stability generalization lemma.

Counterexample Tests

  • Infinite class without capacity control.
  • Unbounded loss.
  • Data-dependent class chosen after seeing sample.
  • Expectation result incorrectly stated as high probability.
  • Non-iid samples.

Tool Hooks

  • Python simulations for toy distributions.
  • Wolfram/SymPy for optimizing rates over epsilon/net size.
  • Lean for elementary inequalities if useful.