Understanding High Dimensional Spaces through Visual Means Employing Multidimensional Projections

TL;DR

This paper explores how multidimensional projection algorithms like t-SNE and LSP can be visualized to better understand and tune their mathematical parameters for improved data analysis.

Contribution

It demonstrates methods to visualize and interpret the parameters of multidimensional projection algorithms, aiding users in understanding their mathematical foundations and effects.

Findings

Visualizations help interpret the impact of parameters on projections

Adjusting parameters of PCA, t-SNE, and LSP improves data understanding

Illustrative examples support effective application in data analysis

Abstract

Data visualisation helps understanding data represented by multiple variables, also called features, stored in a large matrix where individuals are stored in lines and variable values in columns. These data structures are frequently called multidimensional spaces.In this paper, we illustrate ways of employing the visual results of multidimensional projection algorithms to understand and fine-tune the parameters of their mathematical framework. Some of the common mathematical common to these approaches are Laplacian matrices, Euclidian distance, Cosine distance, and statistical methods such as Kullback-Leibler divergence, employed to fit probability distributions and reduce dimensions. Two of the relevant algorithms in the data visualisation field are t-distributed stochastic neighbourhood embedding (t-SNE) and Least-Square Projection (LSP). These algorithms can be used to understand several ranges of mathematical functions including their impact on datasets. In this article, mathematical parameters of underlying techniques such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) behind t-SNE and mesh reconstruction methods behind LSP are adjusted to reflect the properties afforded by the mathematical formulation. The results, supported by illustrative methods of the processes of LSP and t-SNE, are meant to inspire students in understanding the mathematics behind such methods, in order to apply them in effective data analysis tasks in multiple applications.