Glossary term
Glossary term
Foundations
A relationship between two or more variables that can't be represented solely through addition and multiplication. A linear relationship can be represented as a line; a nonlinear relationship can't be represented as a line. For example, consider two models that each relate a single feature to a single label. The model on the left is linear and the model on the right is nonlinear:
See Neural networks: Nodes and hidden layers in Machine Learning Crash Course to experiment with different kinds of nonlinear functions.
Created for this library
A pricing team explores nonlinear models like gradient boosted trees after demonstrating that the linear baseline misses important interactions.
A risk team uses a nonlinear model in shadow mode to compare against the linear scorecard before recommending a swap.
A retail forecasting team uses nonlinear feature transformations like logs and splines to improve the fit of its baseline model.
Definition source: Google for Developers Machine Learning Glossary | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License