The 5 Python Skills You Need Before You Study Machine Learning

And image showing the 5 Python skills you need before you study machine learning.

Machine learning is a very powerful skill. And machine learning is a valuable skill. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a machine learning engineer is about $127,000 in early 2021. If you already know some Python, then upskilling to add machine learning to your skill set could increase your earning power a lot. The … Read more

Regression vs Classification, Explained

An image that visually shows the difference between regression vs classification.

This tutorial will quickly explain the difference between regression vs classification in machine learning. I’ll explain what regression is, what classification is, and then compare them so you can understand the difference. If you want to understand something specific, you can click on any of these links. They’ll take you to the proper section in … Read more

Supervised vs Unsupervised Learning, Explained

An image that shows the difference between supervised and unsupervised learning.

In this article, I’ll explain supervised vs unsupervised learning. The tutorial will start by discussing some foundational concepts and then it will explain supervised and unsupervised learning separately, in more detail. If you need something specific, just click on the link. The following links will take you to specific sections of the article. Table of … Read more

How to do linear regression in R

A visualization of an example linear regression in R, performed using ggplot2.

Linear regression. It’s a technique that almost every data scientist needs to know. Although machine learning and artificial intelligence have developed much more sophisticated techniques, linear regression is still a tried-and-true staple of data science ….

You don’t need to know much math for data science

A pen on a piece of paper with math equations

Recently, a Sharp Sight blog reader emailed me and asked for advice about data science prerequisites. He was nervous about math. Someone had told him that in order to study data science, he needed to learn a long list of math topics first: Precalculus Calculus Multi variable calculus Trigonometry Linear algebra Differential equations Statistics Although … Read more

Welcome to the Second Machine Age

second machine age analogy to first machine age

The world has just entered one of the biggest transitions in history. That’s the contention of two MIT economists, Eric Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee. In their recent book, The Second Machine Age, they argue that big data, computation, and innovation are changing our economy and institutions with a magnitude greater than almost anything ever seen … Read more

How to use data analysis for machine learning (example, part 1)

In my last article, I stated that for practitioners (as opposed to theorists), the real prerequisite for machine learning is data analysis, not math. One of the main reasons for making this statement, is that data scientists spend an inordinate amount of time on data analysis. The traditional statement is that data scientists “spend 80% … Read more

The real prerequisite for machine learning isn’t math, it’s data analysis

When beginners get started with machine learning, the inevitable question is “what are the prerequisites? What do I need to know to get started?” And once they start researching, beginners frequently find well-intentioned but disheartening advice, like the following: You need to master math. You need all of the following: – Calculus – Differential equations … Read more