This book provides a framework for info-metrics—the science of modeling, inference, and reasoning under conditions of noisy and insufficient information. Info-metrics is an inherently interdisciplinary framework that emerged from the intersection of information theory, statistical inference, and decision-making under uncertainty. It allows us to process the available information with minimal reliance on assumptions that cannot be validated. This book focuses on unifying all information processing and model building within a single constrained optimization framework. It provides a complete fram ... More

This book provides a framework for info-metrics—the science of modeling, inference, and reasoning under conditions of noisy and insufficient information. Info-metrics is an inherently interdisciplinary framework that emerged from the intersection of information theory, statistical inference, and decision-making under uncertainty. It allows us to process the available information with minimal reliance on assumptions that cannot be validated. This book focuses on unifying all information processing and model building within a single constrained optimization framework. It provides a complete framework for modeling and inference, rather than a problem-specific model. The framework evolves from the simple premise that our available information is often insufficient to provide a unique answer for decisions we wish to make. Each decision, or solution, is derived from the available input information along with a choice of inferential procedure. The book contains many multidisciplinary applications that demonstrate the simplicity and generality of the framework in real-world settings: These include initial diagnosis at an emergency room, optimal dose decisions, election forecasting, network and information aggregation, weather pattern analyses, portfolio allocation, inference of strategic behavior, incorporation of prior information, option pricing, and modeling an interacting social system. This book presents simple derivations of the key results that are necessary to understand and apply the fundamental concepts to a variety of problems. Derivations are often supported by graphical illustrations. The book is designed to be accessible for graduate students, researchers, and practitioners across the disciplines, requiring only basic quantitative skills and a little persistence.