Do You Have to Learn Math for Machine Learning?

You don't have to, but you should. Here's why.

“Why do I have to learn mathematics?” - This is a question I am asked daily.

Well, you don’t have to. But you should!

On the surface, advanced mathematics doesn’t impact software engineering and machine learning in a production setting. You don’t have to calculate gradients, solve linear equations, or find eigenvalues by hand. Basic and advanced algorithms are abstracted away into libraries and APIs, performing all the hard work for you.

Nowadays, implementing a state-of-the-art deep neural network is almost equivalent to instantiating an object in PyTorch, loading the pre-trained weights, and letting the data blaze through the model. Just like all technological advances, this is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, frameworks that accelerate prototyping and development enable machine learning in practice. Without them, we wouldn’t have seen the explosion in deep learning that we witnessed in the last decade.

On the other hand, high-level abstractions are barriers between us and the underlying technology. User-level knowledge is only sufficient when one is treading on familiar paths. (Or until something breaks.)

If you are not convinced, let’s do a thought experiment! Imagine moving to a new country without speaking the language and knowing the way of life. However, you have a smartphone and a reliable internet connection.

How do you start exploring?