Unknown Variability at a Search Peak
Abstract
A favorable peak can reflect measurement noise, and a small pilot variance can reinforce it by attracting follow-up. Search and unknown-variance ranking should therefore be evaluated through complete trajectories with independent terminal checks. The test varies pilots and records whether competing regions receive adequate information before resources are exhausted. This focused synthesis develops an empirical comparison that preserves the terminal action, observation process, and total verification cost. Its proposed tests are prospective; no new simulation run, model-training result, or intervention effect is reported.
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