Compare k-means fixed points

Problem

For the points {0,4,5,9}\{0,4,5,9\} with K=2K=2, evaluate the objective for contiguous splits after 00, after 44, and after 55, using cluster means. Identify the globally best splits and show that the middle split is a Lloyd fixed point despite being worse.

Reveal answer or reference solution

The objectives are 1414, 1616, and 1414. The first and third splits tie for best. The middle split has centers (2,7)(2,7), whose boundary is 4.54.5; the assignments remain {0,4}\{0,4\} and {5,9}\{5,9\}, and the recomputed means remain (2,7)(2,7). Thus, the middle split is a worse fixed point, illustrating a local optimum.

Outcome

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