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---
id: uncertainty
aliases: []
tags:
- authorship/original
- destiny/permanent
- status/incomplete
- topic/risk
- type/encyclopedia
title: Uncertainty
dg-publish: true
---
# Uncertainty
%%
## TALK
## TODO
%%
The term "uncertainty" refers to the possibility of multiple outcomes.
## Information
In statistical inference and [[strategy]],
**information** is the resolution of uncertainty.
### Value of Information
> [!quote]
> **Value of information** (VOI or VoI)
> is the amount a decision maker would be willing to pay
> for information prior to making a decision.
Suppose information $I$ is available to a decision maker.
Consider these two scenarios:
1. the decision maker does not purchase the information
and makes \$9,000. $P(D)=9000$
2. the decision maker purchases the information
and makes \$10,000 $P(D)|I=10000$
The monetary value of $I$ is the difference between the payout
without ($P(D)$) and with ($P(D)|I$) the information $I$.
$$
\begin{align*}
V(I) &= P(D)|I - P(D) \\
&= (10000) - (9000) \\
&= 1000
\end{align*}
$$
When forecasting, the payout of decisions is unknown,
thus
$$
\mathbb{E}\left[V(I)\right] = \mathbb{E}\left[P(D)\right] - \mathbb{E}\left[P(D)|I\right]
$$
### Expected Value of Perfect Information
Expected value of perfect information (EVPI)
is the price that one would be willing to pay
in order to gain access to perfect information.
> [!info] Perfect Information
> Perfect information is hypothetical information
> that would eliminate all uncertainty.
The perceived _value_ of decreased uncertainty
must be weighed against its _cost_.
## Types of Uncertainty
### Aleatory Uncertainty
> [!info] Also Known As
> * statistical uncertainty
> * stochastic uncertainty
> * random error
Aleatory uncertainty is inherent randomness in data that can't be explained away.
### Epistemic Uncertainty
> [!info] Also Known As
> * systematic uncertainty
> * model uncertainty
Epistemic uncertainty is that which arises from a lack of knowledge,
and can be eliminated with access to [[#information]].
Under Bayesian statistics,
all uncertainty is epistemic.
## See Also
* [Uncertainty analysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_analysis)
* [Uncertainty quantification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_quantification)
* [Propagation of uncertainty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propagation_of_uncertainty)
* [Sensitivity analysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitivity_analysis)