ELI5: quantization
// explanation
What is quantization?
Quantization is like rounding numbers to make them simpler [1][3]. Imagine you're measuring how tall someone is - instead of saying "5 feet 7.3456 inches," you just say "about 5 feet 7 inches." That's what quantization does with all kinds of information, from sound waves to pictures [1][2].
Why do we need to round numbers?
Computers work with numbers that have only so many digits, like whole numbers or numbers with just a few decimal places [2][3]. When we have infinite decimal numbers (like the real numbers), we can't store them perfectly in a computer, so we pick the closest simple number instead [1].
What does this look like in the real world?
When you listen to music on your phone, the sound wave is converted into numbers that represent how loud it should be at each tiny moment in time [2]. The phone can't store every single possibility, so it picks from a limited set of volume levels - kind of like a dimmer switch with only 10 settings instead of infinite brightness [2].
How does it help?
By using fewer, simpler numbers instead of infinitely detailed ones, computers can store more information and work faster [5]. It's like writing a short summary instead of a whole book - less detail, but still useful [1][3].
// sources
In mathematics and digital signal processing, quantization is the process of mapping input values from a large set (often a continuous set) to output values in ...
Oct 25, 2022 ... Quantization is when the voltage level of the signal is converted into a discrete number value. Each bit is worth 6dB (essentially think of it ...
Quantization is the process of constraining an input from a continuous or otherwise large set of values (such as the real numbers) to a discrete set (such as ...
Nov 20, 2009 ... In mathematics, quantization often refers to some kind of deformation of a classical object. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle says that the ...
Quantization is a technique to reduce the computational and memory costs of running inference by representing the weights and activations with low-precision ...
Video by Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Video by Julia Turc
Video by Electronics Subjectified
