I'm in neuroscience and machine learning, but I have a math degree (undergrad).
There is a limited selection of mathematical topics that is seen in Neuro and ML (mostly statistics, linear algebra, and optimization), whereas physicists dig much deeper into more advanced math to great success.
This surprises me, because I think 'advanced' math has so much to say for Neuro, ML, and AI. The hippocampus seems to map out space more topologically than geometrically, yet few neuroscientists can tell you the difference between the two. Brains learn to infer global features from just one or two examples (you see your first giraffe and have no problem identifying subsequent ones), which seems to suggest something local-to-global, maybe sheaf-theoretic going on. I imagine it's only a matter of time until the use of these tools become necessary for these fields (Neuro/ML) to move forward.
My questions:
1) What topics or recent advances in mathematics do you think have the highest likelihood in moving from 'pure' to 'applied' in the near future? In particular for Neuro, ML and AI.
RocketshipRocketship2 karma
Hello Dr. Frenkel,
I'm in neuroscience and machine learning, but I have a math degree (undergrad).
There is a limited selection of mathematical topics that is seen in Neuro and ML (mostly statistics, linear algebra, and optimization), whereas physicists dig much deeper into more advanced math to great success.
This surprises me, because I think 'advanced' math has so much to say for Neuro, ML, and AI. The hippocampus seems to map out space more topologically than geometrically, yet few neuroscientists can tell you the difference between the two. Brains learn to infer global features from just one or two examples (you see your first giraffe and have no problem identifying subsequent ones), which seems to suggest something local-to-global, maybe sheaf-theoretic going on. I imagine it's only a matter of time until the use of these tools become necessary for these fields (Neuro/ML) to move forward.
My questions:
1) What topics or recent advances in mathematics do you think have the highest likelihood in moving from 'pure' to 'applied' in the near future? In particular for Neuro, ML and AI.
2) What equation would you get as a tattoo?
Thank you. I really enjoyed your book.
View HistoryShare Link