Description: The discretization of variables is the process of converting continuous variables into discrete categories. This approach is fundamental in data preprocessing, as it allows for the transformation of numerical data into intervals or groups that can be more easily interpreted and analyzed. Discretization facilitates the identification of patterns and trends in the data, which is especially useful in the context of machine learning algorithms and data mining. By converting continuous variables into discrete ones, the complexity of the model is simplified, which can improve computational efficiency and the interpretability of results. There are different methods for performing discretization, such as equal frequency discretization, where data is divided into groups containing the same number of observations, or equal width discretization, which divides the range of data into uniformly sized intervals. The choice of discretization method can significantly influence the performance of predictive models, as poor discretization can lead to the loss of valuable information or the introduction of biases in the analysis.
