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How accessible is a course like this with no prior knowledge of linear algebra? I know it's listed in the pre-reqs, but with a good head for math and lots of ca

by magicmu 11y ago

How accessible is a course like this with no prior knowledge of linear algebra? I know it's listed in the pre-reqs, but with a good head for math and lots of calc, is it something that could be picked up along the way? I'm normally pretty bold about stuff like that, but I know it's a core part of deep learning / ML. If it's really necessary, if anyone has any resources for linear algebra run-throughs it would be greatly appreciated!!

mrborgen 11y ago
Haven taken this course (though I will), but check out Andrew Ng's Coursera's ML course. He gives a crash course in linear algebra. It helped me a lot in my endeavours in ML & neural nets. I also like to learn as I go along, and this intro was just about enough to get started.
- pramodliv1 11y ago
  I did not find the crash course in Linear Algebra to be useful. I had to complete Strang's course (ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06-linear-algebra-spring-2010/video-lectures/) before doing Andrew Ng's course , after which most of the course seemed easy.
- aswanson 11y ago
  Ng is an awesome lecturer, very easy to follow.
jskonhovd 11y ago
I would start with the nano degree program if you don't have any prior knowledge of ML. Udacity has a Linear Algebra review course, but I don't believe it is public for now. I had taken a linear algebra course before I took the GT ML class, but I wasn't a expert by any means. I don't believe you will need a deep understanding of linear algebra before taking this class. Singular value decomposition might come up. I think if you are familiar with everything in the following pdf you should be fine. http://minireference.com/static/tutorials/linear_algebra_in_4_pages.pdf http://minireference.com/static/tutorials/linear_algebra_in_... If you are motivated, you will do fine. Good luck!
- magicmu 11y ago
  Awesome, thanks for the pdf!
- datawrangler 11y ago
  Udacity has a couple free linear algebra courses. One here: https://www.udacity.com/course/linear-algebra-refresher-course--ud953 https://www.udacity.com/course/linear-algebra-refresher-cour... And another here: https://www.udacity.com/course/intro-algebra-review--ma004 https://www.udacity.com/course/intro-algebra-review--ma004
stared 11y ago
Linear algebra is simple (but ubiquitous - so you need to feel it, not only "sort of follow it"). Some visual matrix operations are here: http://setosa.io/ev/ http://setosa.io/ev/ If you want a beginner textbook, I recommend http://www.matrixanalysis.com/ http://www.matrixanalysis.com/ Again, it is simple, so maybe you can even take course and look up Wikipedia when needed (but for me it is hard to guess you level, current knowledge, etc). In any case, this ML course assumes some ML knowledge.
- vowelless 11y ago
  I like this writeup: http://betterexplained.com/articles/linear-algebra-guide/ http://betterexplained.com/articles/linear-algebra-guide/
- magicmu 11y ago
  Yeah, your last suggestion was what I was leaning towards. Because of the ubiquity of linear algebra, though, this seems like as good a time as any to start getting a good handle on it. Thanks for the resources!
pdm55 11y ago
Simple explanation of the basics: http://www.intmath.com/matrices-determinants/matrix-determinant-intro.php http://www.intmath.com/matrices-determinants/matrix-determin... - matrices http://www.intmath.com/vectors/vectors-intro.php http://www.intmath.com/vectors/vectors-intro.php - vectors Linear Algebra using Python: https://www.coursera.org/course/matrix https://www.coursera.org/course/matrix - Coursera: Coding the Matrix http://codingthematrix.com/ http://codingthematrix.com/ - Website: Coding the Matrix The simplest software for linear algebra would be GeoGebra, http://www.geogebra.org/ http://www.geogebra.org/. For instance, to enter a matrix just have the spreadsheet view open, enter the numbers, highlight the cells, then choose the option "Create Matrix". To enter a vector start writing "vec" in the input bar at the bottom and intellisense gives you the option to choose "Vector[<Start Point>, <End Point>]". Choose this. Fill it in, for example, "Vector[(-3, 4), (1, 2)]" (Hint: Use Tab to move between options in the input formula, here to move between "<Start Point>" and "<End Point>]".) Voila the vector is drawn! You can even draw a vector with just two clicks in Graphics view, if you first select the "Vectors" tab at the top (the symbol is a line with an arrowhead). The GeoGebra software is really incredible for learning/doing Linear Algebra, Calculus and Statistics. A real godsend.

by magicmu 11y ago

mrborgen 11y ago

Haven taken this course (though I will), but check out Andrew Ng's Coursera's ML course. He gives a crash course in linear algebra. It helped me a lot in my endeavours in ML & neural nets. I also like to learn as I go along, and this intro was just about enough to get started.

pramodliv1 11y ago
I did not find the crash course in Linear Algebra to be useful. I had to complete Strang's course (ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06-linear-algebra-spring-2010/video-lectures/) before doing Andrew Ng's course , after which most of the course seemed easy.
aswanson 11y ago
Ng is an awesome lecturer, very easy to follow.

jskonhovd 11y ago

I would start with the nano degree program if you don't have any prior knowledge of ML. Udacity has a Linear Algebra review course, but I don't believe it is public for now. I had taken a linear algebra course before I took the GT ML class, but I wasn't a expert by any means. I don't believe you will need a deep understanding of linear algebra before taking this class. Singular value decomposition might come up. I think if you are familiar with everything in the following pdf you should be fine. http://minireference.com/static/tutorials/linear_algebra_in_4_pages.pdf http://minireference.com/static/tutorials/linear_algebra_in_... If you are motivated, you will do fine. Good luck!

magicmu 11y ago
Awesome, thanks for the pdf!
datawrangler 11y ago
Udacity has a couple free linear algebra courses. One here: https://www.udacity.com/course/linear-algebra-refresher-course--ud953 https://www.udacity.com/course/linear-algebra-refresher-cour... And another here: https://www.udacity.com/course/intro-algebra-review--ma004 https://www.udacity.com/course/intro-algebra-review--ma004

stared 11y ago

Linear algebra is simple (but ubiquitous - so you need to feel it, not only "sort of follow it"). Some visual matrix operations are here: http://setosa.io/ev/ http://setosa.io/ev/ If you want a beginner textbook, I recommend http://www.matrixanalysis.com/ http://www.matrixanalysis.com/ Again, it is simple, so maybe you can even take course and look up Wikipedia when needed (but for me it is hard to guess you level, current knowledge, etc). In any case, this ML course assumes some ML knowledge.

vowelless 11y ago
I like this writeup: http://betterexplained.com/articles/linear-algebra-guide/ http://betterexplained.com/articles/linear-algebra-guide/
magicmu 11y ago
Yeah, your last suggestion was what I was leaning towards. Because of the ubiquity of linear algebra, though, this seems like as good a time as any to start getting a good handle on it. Thanks for the resources!

pdm55 11y ago

Simple explanation of the basics: http://www.intmath.com/matrices-determinants/matrix-determinant-intro.php http://www.intmath.com/matrices-determinants/matrix-determin... - matrices http://www.intmath.com/vectors/vectors-intro.php http://www.intmath.com/vectors/vectors-intro.php - vectors Linear Algebra using Python: https://www.coursera.org/course/matrix https://www.coursera.org/course/matrix - Coursera: Coding the Matrix http://codingthematrix.com/ http://codingthematrix.com/ - Website: Coding the Matrix The simplest software for linear algebra would be GeoGebra, http://www.geogebra.org/ http://www.geogebra.org/. For instance, to enter a matrix just have the spreadsheet view open, enter the numbers, highlight the cells, then choose the option "Create Matrix". To enter a vector start writing "vec" in the input bar at the bottom and intellisense gives you the option to choose "Vector[<Start Point>, <End Point>]". Choose this. Fill it in, for example, "Vector[(-3, 4), (1, 2)]" (Hint: Use Tab to move between options in the input formula, here to move between "<Start Point>" and "<End Point>]".) Voila the vector is drawn! You can even draw a vector with just two clicks in Graphics view, if you first select the "Vectors" tab at the top (the symbol is a line with an arrowhead). The GeoGebra software is really incredible for learning/doing Linear Algebra, Calculus and Statistics. A real godsend.