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Statistics for Machine Learning

Unlock the statistical foundations of machine learning. Learn probability, inference, and regression through practical examples

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About

About

About the Book

This book bridges the gap between traditional statistics and modern machine learning. It introduces core statistical concepts—probability, distributions, hypothesis testing, regression, and Bayesian methods—and shows how they underpin algorithms used in data science and AI. Written with clarity and practical examples, it helps readers understand not just the “how” but the “why” behind machine learning techniques. Whether you’re a student, researcher, or practitioner, this book equips you with the statistical intuition needed to build reliable models and interpret results with confidence.

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Author

About the Author

PR

PR is a mathematician, educator, and creator with 15+ years of teaching experience. He specializes in making complex concepts in Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, Linear Algebra, Probability, Statistics, and programming subjects such as C++, Python, and Data Structures easy to understand. PR publishes ebooks and educational resources that connect mathematics and programming to real-world applications, including AI, Machine Learning, Data Science, and Finance.

Contents

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1: Probability Foundations

  • Introduction
  • Basic Definitions
  • Axioms of Probability
  • Addition Rule
  • Conditional Probability
  • Independence
  • Law of Total Probability
  • Bayes' Theorem
  • ML Insight
  • Quick Summary

Chapter 2: Probability Distributions

  • Introduction
  • Discrete vs Continuous Distributions
  • Bernoulli Distribution
  • Binomial Distribution
  • Poisson Distribution
  • Uniform Distribution
  • Normal Distribution
  • Exponential Distribution
  • When to Use Which Distribution
  • Interview Questions and Tricks
  • Quick Summary

Chapter 3: Descriptive Statistics

  • Introduction
  • Measures of Central Tendency
    • Mean
    • Median
    • Mode
  • Measures of Dispersion
    • Variance
    • Standard Deviation
  • Skewness
  • Kurtosis
  • Range and IQR
  • Outlier Detection
  • Z-Score
  • Interview Questions and Tricks
  • Quick Summary

Chapter 4: Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE)

  • Introduction
  • Basic Idea of MLE
  • Log-Likelihood
  • MLE for Bernoulli Distribution
  • MLE for Normal Distribution
  • Steps to Compute MLE
  • Examples
  • MLE in Machine Learning
  • MLE vs MAP
  • Interview Questions and Tricks
  • Common Mistakes
  • Quick Summary

Chapter 5: Bayesian Inference

  • Introduction
  • Bayes' Theorem
  • Prior, Likelihood, Posterior
  • Example: Medical Testing
  • Maximum A Posteriori (MAP)
  • Conjugate Priors
  • Bayesian Updating
  • Python Example
  • Bayesian in Machine Learning
  • Interview Questions and Tricks
  • Common Mistakes
  • Quick Summary

Chapter 6: Hypothesis Testing

  • Introduction
  • Basic Concepts
  • Type I and Type II Errors
  • p-value
  • Z-Test
  • t-Test
  • Chi-Square Test
  • ANOVA
  • One-Tailed vs Two-Tailed Tests
  • Hypothesis Testing in ML
  • Interview Questions and Tricks
  • Common Mistakes
  • Quick Summary

Chapter 7: Linear Algebra for Statistics

  • Vectors and Matrices
  • Covariance Matrix
  • Correlation
  • Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors
  • ML Applications

Chapter 8: Information Theory

  • Entropy
  • Cross-Entropy
  • KL Divergence
  • ML Applications

Chapter 9: Model Evaluation

  • Bias vs Variance
  • Cross-Validation
  • Accuracy, Precision, Recall
  • F1 Score
  • ML Metrics

Appendix

  • Python Code Reference
  • Formula Cheat Sheet

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