#aiclass versus #mlclass - fight!

[pozorvlak]

I've been doing Stanford's online Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning courses. Both have their good points and bad points: here are my comments so far.

[The Introduction to Databases course looks interesting too, but I only have a finite number of hours in the day

Comments

[atreic]

I only did matrix multiplication as part of further maths, so it seems eminently plausable that a well educated person who had done, say, maths, physics, and computing at A-level and wanted some higher study had missed this entirely.

[pozorvlak]

Huh. I think I was first taught matrix multiplication at the age of ten or eleven, so it wasn't even high-school maths for me! On the other hand, it's possible that my mathematical education was more atypical than I realise.

Come to think of it, I think we used to teach matrices in the first-year remedial maths course at Glasgow. We certainly taught basic calculus.

[atreic]

I can't find it on the GCSE syllabus or on the A-level syllabus, only on the further maths syllabus, which would match my memories. Then again, I think I am atypical in having gone to Cambridge with a very typical mathematical education (and then being very scared of the 'I've known about matrices since I was 3' types ;-) )

[pozorvlak]

It's not on the Common Entrance syllabus either, though it does say "It is presumed that, as in all good
practice, teachers will, where it is appropriate for their pupils, teach beyond the syllabus" ;-) My memory is that public school scholarship examinations were based on the CE syllabus but set harder questions on it: a quick scan through the 2009 Eton scholarship Maths exams (paper A, paper B) reveal no questions that obviously involve matrices. The syllabus may well have changed in the 18 years since I took the exam, of course. The questions also look easier than I remember, though possibly my memory's playing me false.

Of the nine or so maths students in my year at my college, IIRC I was the only one who'd been to public school. Several of the state school kids had been to grammars or other non-comprehensive schools, though I can't remember what the split was.

Stanford version

[ext_852108]

They dramatically dumbed down the ML class for this open online version. The version of the class that's taught to Stanford assumes much more mathematical maturity and doesn't hesitate to dive right in. You can get a taste by looking at past lectures and lecture videos (on Youtube).

Re: Stanford version

[pozorvlak]

Aha! I thought that might be the case. Thanks!

Re: Stanford version

[alexey_rom]

Thanks, good to know!

[susannahf]

out of interest, are these free courses or do you pay for them? (and if so, how much?)
yes, I could google it, but I'm meant to be at work and I'm at home on LJ, so I'm being lazy ;)

[pozorvlak]

They're all free. I think signup's ended for this session, though.

[ext_857198]

Thanks for your comments, pozorvlak. We will take them all to heart and try to improve. One thing we won't do is run the class only at the level of students who are as well-prepared as you. We want to reach a broader range of students. As has been pointed out, Andrew's course is toned down to a lower level than ours, so one possibility would be to have two levels of a course, beginner and advanced. But we won't ignore the beginning student.

[pozorvlak]

Thanks very much for responding! I completely take the point that I'm an atypical student and that the people you're really trying to reach will judge by different criteria. Please don't take my criticisms above too harshly - I'm enjoying the course and learning a lot.