<p>Why does simhash work?  I understand how to implement the hash algorithm, mechanically, from the many articles such as <a href="http://matpalm.com/resemblance/simhash/" rel="nofollow">http://matpalm.com/resemblance/simhash/</a>.  But is there a simple intuitive explanation for why this particular procedure is so effective at capturing similarity?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-12T01:51:21.477Z
Could you edit the question to clarify what problem you are asking about?  The assumption in the question is that simhash (whatever it is) works, but works _for what_?  The question talks about “capturing similarity,” but similarity _of what_?
Tsuyoshi Ito
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-13T08:18:41.070Z
Isn't the whole premise of simhash that (from the link) "similar items are hashed to similar hash values (by similar we mean the bitwise hamming distance between hash values)"? I believe "items" is generally documents, strings, etc.
xyz
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-13T09:38:42.317Z
Well, I do not know what simhash is.  I am just trying to help you state your question in such a way that theoretical computer science can be useful.  In the current form, it is unclear to me why you are asking this question on a website about theoretical computer science.
Tsuyoshi Ito
<hash-function>
What is the intuition behind simhash?
xyz
# What is the intuition behind simhash?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-10-11)

Why does simhash work? I understand how to implement the hash algorithm, mechanically, from the many articles such as <http://matpalm.com/resemblance/simhash/>. But is there a simple intuitive explanation for why this particular procedure is so effective at capturing similarity?

**Tags:** hash-function

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Could you edit the question to clarify what problem you are asking about?  The assumption in the question is that simhash (whatever it is) works, but works _for what_?  The question talks about “capturing similarity,” but similarity _of what_?  
> **username_0**: Isn't the whole premise of simhash that (from the link) "similar items are hashed to similar hash values (by similar we mean the bitwise hamming distance between hash values)"? I believe "items" is generally documents, strings, etc.  
> **username_1**: Well, I do not know what simhash is.  I am just trying to help you state your question in such a way that theoretical computer science can be useful.  In the current form, it is unclear to me why you are asking this question on a website about theoretical computer science.  

---

## 0 answers

