Course · Beginner
Mathematics for Machine Learning
Learn to read the language every machine-learning paper is written in.
Before you can do the mathematics of machine learning, you have to be able to read it. This course is a gentle, thorough tour of the notation: Greek letters, sets, logic, functions, sums, vectors, derivatives and probability. Every chamber follows the research loop: discover a symbol in the wild, learn what it means, read beyond the course, find it in real papers, then prove and code your way to mastery. The Sphinx waits at the centre with riddles written in symbols.
- Chambers
- 9 + boss
- Time
- ~6 hours
- Questions
- 107
- Coding problems
- 27
- Concept cards
- 36
- XP available
- 5,765+
Cleared You are here Ahead
The path through the labyrinth
Three rings, 9 chambers, one guardian. You can wander ahead, but the thread works best in order: each chamber builds on the last.
Ring I
The Outer Ring
The alphabet of mathematics- 1Reading Mathematics AloudYou are hereGreek letters, typefaces, subscripts and hats: learn to say every symbol out loud before you try to understand it. 35 min 50 XP12 questions
- 2Sets: The Nouns of MathematicsMembership, set-builder notation, unions, intersections and the number systems every paper quietly assumes. 35 min 50 XP12 questions
- 3Logic: For All and There Exists∀, ∃, ⇒ and ⇔: the logical glue of every definition and theorem, and your first real proofs. 35 min 50 XP12 questions
Ring II
The Middle Ring
The grammar of expressions- 4Functions: Machines That MapDomains, codomains, composition and inverses: how papers write down models, activations and layers. 35 min 50 XP12 questions
- 5Σ and Π: Loops Written in MathsSigma and pi notation, indices and bounds, and the algebra of sums behind every loss function. 40 min 60 XP12 questions
- 6Vectors and Matrices: Reading the ShapesBold letters, transposes, indices and shapes: the notation of linear algebra, before the linear algebra. 40 min 60 XP12 questions
Ring III
The Inner Ring
The language of papers- 7Change: The Notation of CalculusLimits, derivatives, partials and gradients: how papers write change, and what ∇ is really asking. 40 min 60 XP12 questions
- 8Chance: The Notation of ProbabilityP, p, 𝔼, ∼ and the vertical bar: reading the probabilistic sentences at the heart of machine learning. 40 min 60 XP12 questions
- 9Reading the Equations of a PaperPut it all together: decode attention, Adam and the ELBO symbol by symbol, then turn equations into working code. 45 min 60 XP11 questions
The centre
The Riddle of the SphinxShe guards the road to the inner labyrinth with riddles written in symbols. Three wrong answers and you're turned back.8 hits to win · 3 lives+300 XP · +100 flawless bonus · certificate