Finding the distance between groups of points

geometry

Let's say we have two groups of points : $a_1,a_2,a_3,\dots,a_n$ and $b_1,b_2,b_3,\dots,b_m$, in $2$-dimensional or $N$-dimensional space.

I have the distance between every $a$ and $b$ point, but not between the points in the group internally, i.e.
$D = |a_i,b_j|$ is known,
$D = |a_i,a_j|$ and $D = |b_i,b_j|$, unknown

My question is, is the overall distance between the two groups (I imagine centers of the groups) just the average of all the distances, OR it is calculated some other way?

Best Answer

If you would like to find the distance between centers (or means) of the groups, you need the within-group data.

Let us simplify the problem to perhaps an unrealistic level: imagine the space is 1-dimensional. Then, all the points will be on the same line. Now imagine two points in group $a$ are at the same distance from the same point in group $b$ . It could be that those two points are exactly at the same location, or it could be that they are located on opposite sides of the group $b$ point at the same distance from it. In the former case, the center of the two points in group $a$ would be their shared location. In the latter case, their center would be on the group $b$ point. So you see, even in such a simple setting, it is not possible to determine where the center of a group of points is. Having multiple points does not invalidate this argument. And in multiple dimensions, the same problem persists. We lose information when we use absolute values for distance.

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