What it means
One quantity is a constant multiple of another: double one and the other doubles. Bayesians write the posterior as proportional to the likelihood times the prior.
Read aloud in real formulas
F ∝ 1/r²
Aethel says
F is proportional to 1 over r squared
the force falls with the square of the distance
p(θ | x) ∝ p(x | θ) p(θ)
Aethel says
p of theta given x is proportional to p of x given theta, times p of theta
posterior, likelihood and prior
Typing it
- LaTeX
- \propto
- Unicode
- U+221D
Formulas that use it
Questions
How do you say ∝ out loud?
It is usually read “is proportional to”.
What does ∝ mean in maths?
One quantity is a constant multiple of another: double one and the other doubles. Bayesians write the posterior as proportional to the likelihood times the prior.
How do you type ∝?
In LaTeX, write \propto. Its Unicode code point is U+221D.