
Ask HN: Linear algebra for Machine learning - biggb
I&#x27;m a MS CS student about half way through my degeee. The later half is going to be where the ML fun begins. I&#x27;ve started preparing and I noticed that 99% of the ML courses require linear algebra. Now, I&#x27;ve never taken or studied linear algebra.<p>My question is whether there is a specific segment of linear algebra that would be best for me to focus on or is all of it pretty important for ML?<p>Additionally, if there were a linear algebra for ML specific book or resource(s) you folks might know of.<p>Thanks!
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ColinWright
This has been discussed many times here on HN - you can read the discussions
of the different books and other resources here:

[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=linear%20algebra&sort=byPopula...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=linear%20algebra&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)

I don't know that there's a specific core of LA required for ML, others might
have more to say about that. But without knowing what other math you've done
it's impossible to offer any advice.

I also did this search:

[https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=linear+algebra+fundamental...](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=linear+algebra+fundamental+ideas)

The following showed up:

[https://minireference.com/static/tutorials/linear_algebra_in...](https://minireference.com/static/tutorials/linear_algebra_in_4_pages.pdf)

[https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06sc-linear-
algeb...](https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06sc-linear-algebra-
fall-2011/ax-b-and-the-four-subspaces/an-overview-of-key-ideas/)

[https://betterexplained.com/articles/linear-algebra-
guide/](https://betterexplained.com/articles/linear-algebra-guide/)

What searches have you done so far, and why are you unhappy with the results
thereof?

~~~
biggb
Thanks for the resources, I appreciate it. I'm new to hacker news so that
helps.

I've done some cursory searches and found quite a few resources, but I figured
I would find a much better concentration of ML specific - if that were a thing
- LA coursework. I was not necessarily unhappy, but I've a limited timeframe
before the ML courses begin, of which I still have to work full time and
complete other courses simulataneously. So I was just trying to focus on ML
specific LA, again, if there was a subset of LA for that.

Either way, thanks for the resouces, I'll definitely look into them!

~~~
ColinWright
There's also this:

[https://math.mit.edu/~gs/learningfromdata/](https://math.mit.edu/~gs/learningfromdata/)

Also, a colleague did her graphics/vision MSc at UCL which also did/does a
machine learning MSc.

[https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-
students/graduate/taught-d...](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-
students/graduate/taught-degrees/machine-learning-msc)

This was a while ago. One book which seemed fierce was this

[https://www.springer.com/gb/book/9780387310732](https://www.springer.com/gb/book/9780387310732)

Singular Value Decomposition was mentioned.

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mindcrime
Does your degree program not include at least one Linear Algebra class? Or are
you just trying to get a head start?

In either case, you might find this course[1] and accompanying videos[2]
useful.

Also, of course, is 3blue1brown[3] on Youtube.

And then there are the Gilbert Strange lectures[4] on Youtube.

[1]: [http://codingthematrix.com/](http://codingthematrix.com/)

[2]: [https://cs.brown.edu/video/channels/coding-matrix-
fall-2014/](https://cs.brown.edu/video/channels/coding-matrix-fall-2014/)

[3]: [http://www.3blue1brown.com/essence-of-linear-algebra-
page/](http://www.3blue1brown.com/essence-of-linear-algebra-page/)

[4]:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK3O402wf1c&list=PL49CF3715C...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK3O402wf1c&list=PL49CF3715CB9EF31D)

~~~
biggb
It doesn't. It assumes at this level you have already taken linear algebra. My
undergrad advisors recommended I take number theory and more logical / theory
based courses - unfortunately.

I'm just trying to not fall behind haha, not necessarily a head start.

Thanks for the reply though, I appreciate it.

