title: SVM - what is a functional margin?
body: <p>A geometric margin is simply the euclidean distance between a certain x (data point) to the hyperlane. </p>
  
  <p>What is the <em>intuitive</em> explanation to what a functional margin is?</p>
  
  <p>Note: I realize that a similar question has been asked here:
  <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/14658452/how-to-understand-the-functional-margin-in-svm">How to understand the functional margin in SVM ?</a></p>
  
  <p>However, the answer given there explains the equation, but not its meaning (as I understood it).</p>