Joint International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems and International Conference on Networking and Services - (icas-icns'05)
Optimal Size of a Feedforward Neural Network: How Much does it Matter?
Papeete, Tahiti
October 23-October 28
ISBN: 0-7695-2450-8
Nina Zhou, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Chunru Wan, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
In this paper, we attempt to answer the following question with systematic computer simulations: for the same validation error rate, does the size of a feedforward neural network matter? This is related to the so-called Occam?s Razor, that is, with all things being equal, the simplest solution is likely to work the best. Our simulation results indicate that for the same validation error rate, smaller networks do not tend to work better than larger networks, that is, Occam?s Razor does not seem to apply to feedforward neural networks. In fact, our results show no trend between network size and performance for a given validation error.
Index Terms:
Neural networks, Learning, Occam?s Razor, Hidden neurons.
Citation:
Lipo Wang, Hou Chai Quek, Keng Hoe Tee, Nina Zhou, Chunru Wan, "Optimal Size of a Feedforward Neural Network: How Much does it Matter?," icas-icns, pp.69, Joint International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems and International Conference on Networking and Services - (icas-icns'05), 2005