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Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Matrix Calculus for Machine Learning and Beyond

Massachusetts Institute of Technology via MIT OpenCourseWare

Overview

We all know that calculus courses such as [*18.01 Single Variable Calculus*](https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/18-01sc-single-variable-calculus-fall-2010/) and [*18.02 Multivariable Calculus*](https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/18-02sc-multivariable-calculus-fall-2010/) cover univariate and vector calculus, respectively. Modern applications such as machine learning and large-scale optimization require the next big step, "matrix calculus" and calculus on arbitrary vector spaces. This class covers a coherent approach to matrix calculus showing techniques that allow you to think of a matrix holistically (not just as an array of scalars), generalize and compute derivatives of important matrix factorizations and many other complicated-looking operations, and understand how differentiation formulas must be reimagined in large-scale computing.

Syllabus

  • Lecture 1 Part 1: Introduction and Motivation
  • Lecture 1 Part 2: Derivatives as Linear Operators
  • Lecture 2 Part 1: Derivatives in Higher Dimensions: Jacobians and Matrix Functions
  • Lecture 2 Part 2: Vectorization of Matrix Functions
  • Lecture 3 Part 1: Kronecker Products and Jacobians
  • Lecture 3 Part 2: Finite-Difference Approximations
  • Lecture 4 Part 1: Gradients and Inner Products in Other Vector Spaces
  • Lecture 4 Part 2: Nonlinear Root Finding, Optimization, and Adjoint Gradient Methods
  • Lecture 5 Part 1: Derivative of Matrix Determinant and Inverse
  • Lecture 5 Part 2: Forward Automatic Differentiation via Dual Numbers
  • Lecture 5 Part 3: Differentiation on Computational Graphs
  • Lecture 6 Part 1: Adjoint Differentiation of ODE Solutions
  • Lecture 6 Part 2: Calculus of Variations and Gradients of Functionals
  • Lecture 7 Part 1: Derivatives of Random Functions
  • Lecture 7 Part 2: Second Derivatives, Bilinear Forms, and Hessian Matrices
  • Lecture 8 Part 1: Derivatives of Eigenproblems
  • Lecture 8 Part 2: Automatic Differentiation on Computational Graphs

Taught by

Prof. Alan Edelman and Prof. Steven G. Johnson

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