An Introduction to Quantile Loss, a.ok.a. the Pinball Loss | by Eryk Lewinson | Aug, 2024

Study the instinct behind the metric used to judge probabilistic forecasts

There are various articles on regression analysis metrics, reminiscent of MSE, MAE, RMSE, and so on. These metrics are essential once we care in regards to the imply or median prediction. Nonetheless, once we need to practice our fashions to concentrate on different areas within the distribution, we’ve got to make use of a special metric, which isn’t so ceaselessly described in information science weblog posts.

On this article, we are going to discover the quantile loss, often known as the pinball loss, which is the go-to metric in quantile regression.

Earlier than explaining the quantile loss, let’s shortly undergo just a few definitions to verify we’re on the identical web page.

Let’s begin with a easy one. Algorithms that belong to the regression sort predict a steady variable, for instance, they predict the temperature, the value of a inventory, the demand for the newest iPhone, and so on.

Now it’s a time for a refresher from statistics. An α quantile is a worth that divides a given set of numbers such that α × 100% of the numbers are lower than or equal to this worth, whereas the remaining (1 − α) × 100% of the…