Why the prediction of Y from X and not the other way around? Convention. Seems like a good idea to have a consistent way to identify variables, so the Y variable becomes the dependent variable or the one being predicted and the X variable becomes the independent variable and is the variable used to predict the value of Y. And when predicted, the Y value is represented as Y′ (read as Y prime)—the predicted value of Y. (To sound like an expert, you might call the independent variable a predictor and the dependent variable the criterion. Purists save the terms independent and dependent to
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