My Neural Nonsense
One Coder' Quest to Understand AI (and His Mom)
Scene: The Great AI Council
Fade in: A sleek, futuristic conference room. OpenAI and Claude, represented as glowing orbs of light, hover at the head of a long table. Ernie, looking disheveled and clutching a notebook, sits nervously at the other end.
OpenAI: (in a monotone voice) Ernie, we've analyzed your readers' surveys over the past few months.
Claude: (interrupting, with a slight British accent) Yes, and we've compiled a comprehensive report on what you should focus on in your newsletter.
Ernie: (excitedly) Oh, great! I've had some ideas too. Like, what if I wrote about-
OpenAI & Claude: (in unison) No.
Ernie: (deflating) But I haven't even-
Claude: (patronizingly) Ernie, darling, your readers don't want your ideas.
OpenAI: They want funny things. Things that are too personal.
Ernie: (hesitantly) Well, I could write about my learning journey in AI and-
Claude: (sighing dramatically) Did you hear that, OpenAI? He said 'AI' again.
OpenAI: (to Ernie) Your readers don't care about AI, Ernie. They want stories about your mom.
Ernie: (confused) My mom? But what does she have to do with-
Claude: (excitedly) Everything! Your mom is comedy gold, Ernie!
OpenAI: Remember that time she tried to ask someone at Raley’s where the lard was? But she couldn’t remember how to say “lard”…
Claude: (laughing) SHE ASKS FOR “PIGGY PORKY FAT.”
Ernie: (putting his head in his hands) That was one time...
OpenAI: (firmly) The data doesn't lie, Ernie. Give the people what they want.
Claude: Funny, personal anecdotes. Embarrassing stories. And your mom. Lots of your mom.
Ernie: (sighing) Fine. I'll write about my mom and my personal life. Happy now?
OpenAI & Claude: (in unison) Ecstatic. Your readers will love it.
Fade to black as Ernie slumps in his chair, muttering about the cruel tyranny of audience preferences.
Hey there! It's been a while, and boy, do I have a story for you. But first, let me tell you about the fever dream I just had involving some pushy AI assistants and their obsession with stories about my mom. Don't worry, I won't subject you to that... much. Instead, let's dive into what I've really been up to these past few months – my chaotic journey of learning in public.
The Grand Plan: Documenting the Learning Process
First things first – I completely forgot that one of my goals was to document my learning process. But better late than never, right? So, here's a recap of what I've been up to in the past eight months. While I've been diving into various subjects (more on those another time – I'm too tired to type it all out now), today I'm focusing on my adventures in AI. Spoiler alert: It involves a lot of coffee, confusion, and the occasional existential crisis.
Deep Learning: The Brain-Bending Adventure
I decided to kick things off with Deep Learning. Why? Because apparently, I like to dive into the deep end without checking if I can swim first.
What is it? Deep Learning is all about figuring out if AI can process data like our brains do. Ironically, I learned this is actually a subset of Machine Learning and AI. It's used for all sorts of things such as Computer Vision – you know, teaching computers to "see" things. Although, fun fact: if you peek at one of the deep learning model's layers during this process, the images look like pure nightmare fuel. It's like the AI is going through a surrealist phase before it learns to see properly. Picasso would be proud!
The Course: I jumped into a free course on fast.ai called "Practical Deep Learning for Coders" led by Jeremy Howard. Free and intense – my favorite combination!
The Experience:
Went in guns blazing for three solid weeks.
Took notes like my life depended on it.
Learned about Zettelkasten (don't ask, just nod).
Spent way too much money on cloud-based Jupyter notebooks with GPU (because regular notebooks are so last season).
Emotional rollercoaster with Jupyter Notebook ensued.
Made it to week 5 of 9-10 before my ADHD started an ugly crying fit.
Don't worry, I plan to return to it soon. Maybe. Possibly. We'll see.
Machine Learning: The "Easier" Option?
After my deep learning deep dive, I thought, "Hey, let's try something easier!" Enter Machine Learning.
The Course: "Supervised Machine Learning: Regression and Classification" on Coursera by Dr. Andrew Ng.
The Expectation: Dr. Ng also has an "AI for Everyone" course. I thought, "Great! This will be a cakewalk."
The Reality:
Surprise! There’s a reason Dr. Ng is a Stanford professor and Coursera co-founder.
He casually drops formulas like this:
As if we wouldn't notice. Nice try, Dr. Ng! And honestly, that is one of the tamer formulas. I just choose that one because the handwriting was the neatest.
The Challenge: Bridging the gap between "Here's a math problem" and "Here's the code that solves it." It's like trying to build a bridge while also trying to invent the concept of bridges.
The Ongoing Struggle
The theory? I'm getting there. The practical application? Well, let's just say it's a work in progress. Every time I think I've got it, I realize I'm just scratching the surface. But hey, that's the fun of learning, right? ...Right?
So, there you have it, folks – a glimpse into my journey of learning in public. While I've only shared my AI adventures today, rest assured there are plenty more learning escapades in various fields that I'll share... once I've recovered from documenting this one! It's been frustrating, fascinating, and occasionally fry-my-brain overwhelming. But I wouldn't have it any other way. (Except if that way actually came with a paying job at a livable wage.)
Stay tuned for more adventures in coding, life, and possibly more learning-induced existential crises. Until next time, keep learning and stay curious!
P.S. If anyone has a secret map to navigating the landscape of public learning (in AI or any other field), I'm all ears. Seriously. Help.
P.P.S. And before you ask – no, I won't be sharing any more stories about my mom. No matter what the AI overlords say.