Calculus Essentials for Machine Learning
Chapter 1: Introduction: Why Calculus Matters in Machine Learning
Functions and Models in ML
The Concept of Optimization in ML
Measuring Change: The Role of Derivatives
Calculus as a Tool for Understanding Algorithms
Quiz for Chapter 1
Chapter 2: Single-Variable Calculus: Derivatives and Optimization
Understanding Limits: The Foundation
Defining the Derivative
Common Differentiation Rules
Higher-Order Derivatives
Finding Minima and Maxima using Derivatives
Application: Simple Cost Function Optimization
Hands-on Practical: Calculating Derivatives with Python
Quiz for Chapter 2
Chapter 3: Multivariable Calculus: Gradients and Direction
Functions of Multiple Variables
Partial Derivatives
The Gradient Vector
Directional Derivatives
The Hessian Matrix
Multivariable Optimization Concepts
Hands-on Practical: Computing Gradients with NumPy
Quiz for Chapter 3
Chapter 4: Gradient Descent Algorithms
The Intuition Behind Gradient Descent
The Gradient Descent Algorithm Steps
The Learning Rate Parameter
Batch Gradient Descent
Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD)
Mini-batch Gradient Descent
Challenges: Local Minima and Saddle Points
Hands-on Practical: Implementing Simple Gradient Descent
Quiz for Chapter 4
Chapter 5: The Chain Rule and Backpropagation
Revisiting the Chain Rule for Single Variables
The Chain Rule for Multivariable Functions
Introduction to Neural Networks as Composite Functions
Backpropagation: Applying the Chain Rule
Calculating Gradients for Weights and Biases
Computational Graphs
Hands-on Practical: Manual Backpropagation Example
Quiz for Chapter 5
The Intuition Behind Gradient Descent
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- CS229 Lecture Notes: Supervised Learning, Generative/Discriminative Learning, Andrew Ng (updates by Tengyu Ma), 2018 Stanford University (Stanford University) - Provides a clear and accessible introduction to gradient descent in the context of machine learning.
- Deep Learning, Ian Goodfellow, Yoshua Bengio, and Aaron Courville, 2016 (MIT Press) - A foundational textbook that covers the principles of gradient descent as a core optimization method.
- Mathematics for Machine Learning, Marc Peter Deisenroth, A. Aldo Faisal, and Cheng Soon Ong, 2020 (Cambridge University Press) - Connects mathematical concepts, including gradients, directly to their use in machine learning algorithms like gradient descent. Freely available online.