Description: The Elbow Method is a heuristic technique used in the field of machine learning and data mining to determine the optimal number of clusters in a dataset. This method is based on the graphical representation of the explained variance as a function of the number of clusters. As the number of clusters increases, the explained variance tends to rise, as the data is grouped more accurately. However, after a certain point, the increase in explained variance becomes marginal, indicating that an adequate number of clusters has been reached. This inflection point is visualized in a graph as an ‘elbow’, hence its name. Identifying this elbow allows analysts and data scientists to select a number of clusters that balances model complexity and generalization capability, avoiding both overfitting and underfitting. The Elbow Method is particularly useful in clustering algorithms, where the choice of the number of clusters is crucial for model performance. Its simplicity and effectiveness have made it a popular tool in data analysis practice, facilitating informed decision-making regarding data segmentation.
