Topological Obstructions to Shared Priors
Given a finite collection of probability measures defined on subsets of a measurable space, how can we determine if they are compatible, in the sense that they can be realized as conditional distributions of a single probability measure on the full space? This formulation of the consistency problem for conditional probabilities is significant in Bayesian epistemology and probabilistic reasoning, as it describes the conditions under which a collection of agents can reach agreement by sharing information. We derive a necessary and sufficient condition under which joint compatibility is equivalent to pairwise compatibility. This condition is stated in terms of the cohomology of a simplicial complex constructed from the given probability measures, exposing a novel application of algebraic topology to Bayesian reasoning.