IDD

IID stands for "independent and identically distributed." It is a term used in statistics and probability theory to describe a scenario where each random variable has the same probability distribution as the others and all are mutually independent.

How IID works

The concept of IID is based on two conditions: independence and identical distribution.

• Independence: The independence aspect means that the outcome of one event or variable does not affect the outcome of another. In a series of IID events, what happens in one event does not change the probabilities for what can happen in another.
• Identically Distributed: The "identically distributed" aspect means that all the events or variables follow the same probability distribution. That is, they all have the same probability function which assigns probabilities to outcomes.

For example, when flipping a fair coin multiple times, each flip is an IID event. The outcome of one flip (either heads or tails) doesn't affect the outcome of any other flip, fulfilling the "independent" condition. And since the probability of getting heads or tails is the same in every flip, it also fulfills the "identically distributed" condition.

IID is a key assumption in many statistical and machine learning models. It simplifies the mathematical and computational work involved in these models, allowing for easier analysis and prediction. However, it's important to remember that many real-world scenarios do not meet the IID assumption, and this can impact the effectiveness of these models.