Machine Learning

Basics of Mathematical Notation for Machine Learning

Last Updated on May 7, 2020

You cannot avoid mathematical notation when reading the descriptions of machine learning methods.

Often, all it takes is one term or one fragment of notation in an equation to completely derail your understanding of the entire procedure. This can be extremely frustrating, especially for machine learning beginners coming from the world of development.

You can make great progress if you know a few basic areas of mathematical notation and some tricks for working through the description of machine learning methods in papers and books.

In this tutorial, you will discover the basics of mathematical notation that you may come across when reading descriptions of techniques in machine learning.

After completing this tutorial, you will know:

  • Notation for arithmetic, including variations of multiplication, exponents, roots, and logarithms.
  • Notation for sequences and sets including indexing, summation, and set membership.
  • 5 Techniques you can use to get help if you are struggling with mathematical notation.

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Let’s get started.