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Explain why LASSO selects features

Last updated: Mar 29, 2026

Quick Overview

This question evaluates understanding of regularization and feature selection in linear models, covering competencies in LASSO's L1 penalty versus L2, geometric constraint intuition, optimality/KKT conditions, effects of correlated predictors, the role of standardization, hyperparameter selection, and when Elastic Net is appropriate, within the Machine Learning domain for Data Scientist roles. It is commonly asked because it probes both conceptual understanding and practical application of model sparsity, interpretability, preprocessing, and bias–variance trade-offs, testing knowledge of statistical optimization and model selection rather than implementation details.

  • Medium
  • Meta
  • Machine Learning
  • Data Scientist

Explain why LASSO selects features

Company: Meta

Role: Data Scientist

Category: Machine Learning

Difficulty: Medium

Interview Round: Technical Screen

Explain why LASSO performs feature selection. Provide: 1) high-level intuition comparing L1 vs. L2 penalties; 2) geometric interpretation of the constraint region and why coefficients hit exact zero; 3) the KKT/subgradient condition for when a coefficient becomes zero; 4) the effect of correlated predictors on selection stability; 5) why standardization matters and what happens if you omit it; 6) how lambda is chosen and how it shifts bias–variance; 7) when Elastic Net is preferable and why.

Quick Answer: This question evaluates understanding of regularization and feature selection in linear models, covering competencies in LASSO's L1 penalty versus L2, geometric constraint intuition, optimality/KKT conditions, effects of correlated predictors, the role of standardization, hyperparameter selection, and when Elastic Net is appropriate, within the Machine Learning domain for Data Scientist roles. It is commonly asked because it probes both conceptual understanding and practical application of model sparsity, interpretability, preprocessing, and bias–variance trade-offs, testing knowledge of statistical optimization and model selection rather than implementation details.

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Meta
Oct 13, 2025, 9:49 PM
Data Scientist
Technical Screen
Machine Learning
1
0

Explain why LASSO performs feature selection. Provide: 1) high-level intuition comparing L1 vs. L2 penalties; 2) geometric interpretation of the constraint region and why coefficients hit exact zero; 3) the KKT/subgradient condition for when a coefficient becomes zero; 4) the effect of correlated predictors on selection stability; 5) why standardization matters and what happens if you omit it; 6) how lambda is chosen and how it shifts bias–variance; 7) when Elastic Net is preferable and why.

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