Studying a Course (Machine Learning) with the ADEPT Method

What's the point of taking a class?

Build alasting intuitionfor the key ideas.
During the course, understand it enough to solve problems.
课程结束后，充分享受它，以便再次访问。

That's why I learn things. Non-goals are transcribing what a teacher says, or cramming only to forget everything. (Yeah, it's a game we play, but we're stepping off the treadmill and only cheating ourselves. Most subjects have useful insights buried somewhere.)

So, here's my strategy when studying:

If an idea clicks, write down theAha!moment in language you'd use yourself.
If it doesn't, write down theHuh?的时刻。Move on and try again later (such as with theADEPT method).

Keep it simple, like theKonMarimethod of organizing:Look at everything in your house.它能带来快乐吗?保留有用的，感谢并捐赠没用的。

一个简单的学习计划:通读材料。点击吗?写下对你有帮助的东西，否则就去寻找更好的解释。

Actual Example: Stanford Machine Learning Course (Coursera)

My currentlearning projectis theMachine Learning Classon Cousera. I've read a smattering of blog posts, the subject is growing, and aftermy friend让我参加这个班，我必须报名。(It's great.)

Here's where I'm keeping my notes, Aha, and Huh moments:

Machine Learning Notes on Google Docs

这是我记忆中最好的一次学习经历。A few examples:

An Aha moment for each prerequisite

对于这门课程所依赖的主要概念，我会在脑海中记一个5秒钟的总结。这个潜在的概念，为什么会存在?用简单的英语来说，它是什么意思?

Linear Algebra: spreadsheets for your equations. We "pour" data through various operations.
2022世界杯预选赛 : time needed to grow. Helps normalize widely varying numbers.
e^x: models continuous growth, has a simple derivative.
Gradient: direction of greatest change, helps optimize.
Calculus-Art of breaking a system into steps. With the gradient, we can move in the best direction.

I reference these snippets as I encounter new formulas.

Huh moment: Need to clarify a Formula

有一个公式，我希望是正的(“成本”应该是正的)，但它前面有一个负号。到底发生了什么事?

我忘记了一部分的推导，我们希望自然对数是负的。(当我们对小于1的数字取对数时，这种情况就会发生——换句话说，我们正在“回到过去”，并缩小。)

我更喜欢这个方程的另一种写法，我把这个记下来了?的时刻。

啊哈瞬间:为什么叫这个名字?

Early in the course, we define a "cost" function which tracks the difference between our predictions and the real value.

为什么不把这种差异称为正常的东西，比如误差?

之所以使用“成本”，是因为在后面的课程中，我们需要最小化与错误没有直接关系的项目(比如模型中变量的数量)。“成本”包含了模型之外的东西，比如我们所拥有的复杂性。(If two models make equally accurate predictions, prefer the simpler one.)

Ah, "cost" can include fuzzier concepts. (I'd still prefer that laid out up-front.)

Aha moment: Summarize the Course in Plain English

随着课程的进行，我脑海中已经有了一个简单的英语定义。这是关于什么的?

Machine Learning: Create models with Linear Algebra, then improve them with Calculus.

Linear Algebra lets us use many (tens, hundreds, thousands) of variables in a "math spreadsheet".
Calculus lets us improve our spreadsheet via feedback on how well it's working. Using functions like e^x, ln(x), x^2, etc. make it easy to take derivatives. Absolute value, if/then statements, etc. aren't easy to work with.

现在我的想法变成了:我能建立什么样的预测模型?如果线性代数可以描述它，我们就用它。

The Result: Notes You'll Actually Enjoy Reading

After the course is done, you're left with a set of notes that make sense to you: the Ahas, Huhs, and other gotchas. (This website is a running collection of mine.)

Future learning gets that much easier. Remember how you were confused about a topic a few years ago? Well, let's read the explanationyou wrote to yourselfon how to overcome it. Over time you build up a massive collection.

Other tips:

Embrace your confusion. The hesitation you feel when you see a formula is ok. Try to break down each part of the equation, ask what it means, make note of what is confusing and return over time. Every positive sign, every variable, why are they there?
It's ok to forget things - I do all the time. I just want a list of intuitions to load up when needed. Often a single phrase or diagram will bring it all back.
These notes are meant for you. Make them fast and quick. (My notes eventually become articles, but they stay informal and for my own use till then.)
教科书已经存在。Don't simply copy what the teacher/book said, add whatyou needto make it clear.

Show me your Aha! moments

这门课程是我上过的最有趣的课程之一——这就是学习的感觉，不断改进的探索。我很好奇这种方法是否也能帮助到您。

对于您的下一门课程，请尝试将您的笔记保存在单个谷歌文档中。写下你的“啊哈!”,嗯?的时刻。Send me a link and I'll add them to this list:

Kalid Azad - Coursera Machine Learning
[you go here]

我很好奇什么对你有效，欢迎反馈。12强赛积分榜最新

Happy math.