In classification problems, why do we use the logistic and softmax functions? Thermal physics may have an answer. — Logistic regression is perhaps the most popular and well-known machine learning model. It solves the binary classification problem — for predicting whether a data point belongs to a category. The key ingredient is the the logistic function, where an input is converted into a probability, written in the form:

Complex systems are ubiquitous in nature, and physicists have found great success using thermodynamics to study these system. Machine learning can be very complex, so can we use thermodynamics to understand it? — As a theoretical physicist turned data scientist, people often ask me how relevant my academic training was. …

We’ve all heard the phrase, “correlation does not imply causation”, but no one ever talks about what causation really is. Fundamental physics has an answer for us, and it might surprise you: It all comes back to correlation. It’s a rainy day in the city, and everyone has their umbrellas…

Describing reality as a simulation vastly understates the complexities of our world. Here’s why the simulation hypothesis is a lousy one — With the advent of artificial intelligence, and ever-increasing computational power, it seems like there’s no limit to what computers can do. From hyper-realistic 3D rendering to deepfake images and videos (e.g., thispersondoesnotexist), the possibility of fully simulating reality seems to be right around the corner.

Entropy may seem abstract, but it has an intuitive side: as the probability of seeing certain patterns in data. Here’s how it works. In data science, there are many concepts linked to the notion of entropy. …

Borne from the notion of self-similar growth, the exponential has far more utility than being just another function. From pandemics to economics, the exponential growth is a common phrase used to emphasize a dramatic level of change. So how do we understand this notion rigorously? To begin, we consider a…

It turns out, by solving one impossible equation, we solve all the algebraic equations. We’ve all learned in basic algebra that the square of any number is positive. So the equation

Because without it, we wouldn’t even be here; let alone use it to build computers and solve humanities’ problems. What is the one thing that we take for granted more than anything else? It is the fact that we exist, and that’s all thanks to quantum physics: from the Universe…

How can we use BigQuery to handle tables with many columns? Here’s a how using scripting and table metadata. — BigQuery (BQ) is a Petabyte-ready proprietary Google data warehouse product. Pretty much every day in my work, I use BQ to process billions of rows of data. But sometimes, tricky situations arise. For example, what if my table has a large number of rows and columns? …