[PGM] Statistical Inference, Probabilistic Inference

Probabilistic Inference

A Graphical Model specifies a joint distribution PM (X) over a collection of variables X. 
How can we answer queries about P(X) ? That is, how can we inference using P(X) ?
Types of queries


–  1. Likelihood of evidence/assignments on variables
–  2. Conditional Probability of some variables (given others).
–  3. Most Probable Assignment for some variables (given others ).

Statistical Inference

Referencing: Wikipedia
In statistics, statistical inference is the process of drawing conclusions from data subject to random variation, for example, observational errors or sampling variation.

The outcome of statistical inference may be an answer to the question "what should be done next?", where this might be a decision about making further experiments or surveys, or about drawing a conclusion before implementing some organizational or governmental policy.