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Date: 4 May 1995 09:09:24 U
From: "Sheila Craig" <sheila_craig[at]-remove-qmail.newbridge.com>
Subject: A survey of everyone's
CYBERMAIL from Sheila_Craig[at]-remove-Newbridge.com
Matt Cockerill wrote
>>Now maybe will have some sort of answer to the question, "I like the jbc,
what
>>other bands might I like?"
>
>Are you all aware that there is an experimental agent at MIT
>(http://homr.www.media.mit.edu/projects/homr/), part of Patti Maes' work,
>which is designed to recommend bands to you, once you have given a few
>favourite/unfavourite bands marks out of ten. Works by statistical methods,
>looking for your nearest members in terms of bands liked, and recommending
>something which they like and which you haven't mentioned.
>
>It sucks, by the way. Whatever the statistical methods they use, are, they
>don't work, even if you input 100's of preferences. In fact, I think it
>gets worse. The problem is that someone with eclectic tastes, which span
>the available dataspace, gets reduced to a middle-of-the-road vector. i.e.
>a combination of Bauhaus, Young Gods, Jazz Butcher, The Pogues and Babes in
>Toyland averages out at Barry Manilow.
>
>Matt
Just imagine how complex the algorithm would have to be to figure out
something from such a wide range of genres! Has anyone tried entering in just
bands in a similar genre to see what others it might suggest (I don't have Web
access yet *sniff* so I can't try it myself). That might actually be useful.
For example, if I put in Spirit of the West, the Pogues and the Oysterband, I
would hope it would suggest some other Celtic bands. Anyone want to give it a
try?
-Sheila
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* Some day I will burst my bud of calm *
* and blossom into hysteria *
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