Abstract

Despite the widespread use of Clustering, we are only beginning to understand the general unifying principles behind clustering functions. Questions like "Are there any principles governing all clustering paradigms?" and "How should a user choose an appropriate clustering algorithm for a particular task?", etc. are almost completely unanswered by the existing body of clustering literature. We consider an axiomatic approach to the theory of Clustering. We adopt the framework of Kleinberg. By relaxing one of Kleinberg's clustering axioms, we sidestep his impossibility result and arrive at a consistent set of axioms. We use this set of axioms to put forward a theory of clustering to help answer the mentioned questions.

Venue, Date, and Time

Venue: GHC 6115

Date: Monday, Sept 28, 2009

Time: 12:00 noon