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Main Authors: Weichert, Dorina, Ernis, Gunar, Worthmann, Marvin, Ryzko, Peter, Seifert, Lukas
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.16230
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author Weichert, Dorina
Ernis, Gunar
Worthmann, Marvin
Ryzko, Peter
Seifert, Lukas
author_facet Weichert, Dorina
Ernis, Gunar
Worthmann, Marvin
Ryzko, Peter
Seifert, Lukas
contents The compounding of plastics with recycled material remains a practical challenge, as the properties of the processed material is not as easy to control as with completely new raw materials. For a data scientist, it makes sense to plan the necessary experiments in the development of new compounds using Bayesian Optimization, an optimization approach based on a surrogate model that is known for its data efficiency and is therefore well suited for data obtained from costly experiments. Furthermore, if historical data and expert knowledge are available, their inclusion in the surrogate model is expected to accelerate the convergence of the optimization. In this article, we describe a use case in which the addition of data and knowledge has impaired optimization. We also describe the unsuccessful methods that were used to remedy the problem before we found the reasons for the poor performance and achieved a satisfactory result. We conclude with a lesson learned: additional knowledge and data are only beneficial if they do not complicate the underlying optimization goal.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_16230
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle When Less is More: A Story of Failing Bayesian Optimization Due to Additional Expert Knowledge
Weichert, Dorina
Ernis, Gunar
Worthmann, Marvin
Ryzko, Peter
Seifert, Lukas
Human-Computer Interaction
The compounding of plastics with recycled material remains a practical challenge, as the properties of the processed material is not as easy to control as with completely new raw materials. For a data scientist, it makes sense to plan the necessary experiments in the development of new compounds using Bayesian Optimization, an optimization approach based on a surrogate model that is known for its data efficiency and is therefore well suited for data obtained from costly experiments. Furthermore, if historical data and expert knowledge are available, their inclusion in the surrogate model is expected to accelerate the convergence of the optimization. In this article, we describe a use case in which the addition of data and knowledge has impaired optimization. We also describe the unsuccessful methods that were used to remedy the problem before we found the reasons for the poor performance and achieved a satisfactory result. We conclude with a lesson learned: additional knowledge and data are only beneficial if they do not complicate the underlying optimization goal.
title When Less is More: A Story of Failing Bayesian Optimization Due to Additional Expert Knowledge
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.16230