About ModeQuiz

In Brief: This program allows a user to estimate the modes in each phase of a continuing randomly created set of images, and receive immediate and cumulative feedback on his or her accuracy, with the goal of improving this estimation ability.

Details: (note that every option in the window has a help tag (tool tip) that provides information on its function

• Image creation. Currently, the parameters for the image creation are hard-coded into the program. Future versions will allow the user to create different parameters and save them to a file. The parameters include the following ranges, within which the values are randomly chosen (but in some cases the probability distribution is made to be Gaussian rather than uniform, so as to weight the probability in some direction). For full definition of these parameters, see the companion program, ModeMaker
  • Number of phases: 1-5, weighted towards one
  • Mode per phase: 2-90, unless overlap is prohibited, in which case 2-40
  • Total mode (non-background): 2-98
  • Color: colors of phases and background are randomly chosen from a list of 13 pre-determined contrasting colors
  • Particle size: 8-108
  • Standard deviation of particle size: 0-[particle size], weighted towards zero
  • Shape: randomly chosen from among (Cirlce, Square, Rectangle, Polygon, Blob)
  • Overlap: 50% chance of overlap being prohibited if mode < 40
  • Complexity (number of points defining polygon or blob): 3-10
  • Standard deviation of complexity: 0-6, weighted towards zero
  • Aspect ratio: 1-9, weighted towards one
  • Standard Deviation of aspect ratio: 0-twice the aspect ratio
  • Allow reentrants (for blob or polygon): 50% chance
• Scoring. Currently, the parameters for the scoring are hard-coded into the program. Future versions will allow the user to create different parameters and save them to a file. Current parameters are that the user gets full credit (100) for estimates that are within 5 percentage points of the true mode, and loses two points for each percentage point futher away from the correct answer. So if the true mode were 52, and the user estimated 60, the score would be 100 - (((60-52) - 5) * 2) = 100 - (3 * 2) = 94.
• Calculation. When particle sizes are small and mode is large, then calculation can be extremely slow. The calculation will be cut off after a limit, currently 10 seconds. The random parameters for the next attempt will be skewed towards larger particle size to prevent two extended calculation attempts in a row .

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