# Metadata Source URL:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markov_blanket#:~:text=In%20statistics%20and%20machine%20learning%2C%20when%20one%20wants%20to%20infer%20a%20random%20variable%20with%20a%20set%20of%20variables%2C%20usually%20a%20subset%20is%20enough%2C%20and%20other%20variables%20are%20useless Topics:: #mathematic --- # Markov blanket - Wikipedia ## Highlights > [!quote]+ Updated on 100922_161715 > > In statistics and machine learning, when one wants to infer a random variable with a set of variables, usually a subset is enough, and other variables are useless. Such a subset that contains all the useful information is called a Markov blanket. If a Markov blanket is minimal, meaning that it cannot drop any variable without losing information, it is called a Markov boundary. Identifying a Markov blanket or a Markov boundary helps to extract useful features. The terms of Markov blanket and Markov boundary were coined by Judea Pearl in 1988.