COS 302 / SML 305: Mathematics for Numerical Computing and Machine Learning

All office hours are now on Zoom. See Piazza for links.
Prof. Ryan Adams (OH: Mon/Wed 1-3pm)

TA: Haochen Li (OH: Mon 7-9pm)
TA: Sulin Liu (OH: Thu 7-9pm)
TA: Geoffrey Roeder (OH: Wed 4:30-6:30pm)
TA: Ari Seff (OH: Thu 5-7pm)
TA: Alexander Strzalkowski (OH: Tue 5-7pm)
TA: Fangyin Wei (OH: Fri 4-6pm)

Lab TA: Michael Li (OH: Sun 2-4pm)
Lab TA: Alan Chung (OH: Sat 11am-1pm)
Lab TA: Kenny Peng (OH: Mon 5-7pm, COS 401)

Announcements

• 5 May 2020: The practice final is available.
• 29 April 2020: Assignment 11 posted.
• 21 April 2020: Assignment 10 posted.
• 21 April 2020: Assignment 9 posted.
• 15 April 2020: Assignment 9 posted.
• 7 April 2020: Assignment 8 posted.
• 30 March 2020: Assignment 7 posted.
• 23 March 2020: Assignment 6 posted.
• 23 March 2020: Due to the disruption and the need for more dynamic communication, please keep an eye on Piazza for links to Zoom, lecture videos, etc.
• 11 March 2020: The midterm deadline has been extended to 6:00pm ET, Friday 20 March due to the disruption from COVID-19.
• 9 March 2020: The midterm exam will now be a take home exam:
  • The exam will become available as a PDF on Blackboard at 12:30pm on Wednesday 11 March.
  • You will print a hard copy of the exam and write your answers on the hard copy.
  • If you are unable to print it for some reason, email the staff list for assistance.
  • You must complete the exam in a two-hour window before 12:30pm on Friday 13 March.
  • You will write your start and end times on the exam.
  • No calculator, phone, or other electronic device is allowed.
  • After you complete the exam, you will scan it to PDF and turn it in via Gradescope.
  • We will also ask you to scan your page of notes along with the exam.
  • If you are unable to scan the exam or use a scanning app on your phone, we will provide information on how to get assistance from COS administrative staff on how to get it scanned.
  • I don't have a scanning app recommendation, but I tend to trust Wirecutter's reviews.
  • It is a closed-book, closed-note, no-Internet exam. You may use one double-sided page of handwritten or typed notes.
  • The basic content of the exam is the same as it was when you were preparing for an in-class midterm.
• 9 March 2020: Due to COVID-19 we are moving to remote instruction. We'll be putting lecture/precept videos on line and holding office hours via Zoom.
• 8 March 2020: Solutions to midterm practice questions are available.
• 7 March 2020: Assignment 4 solutions available.
• 6 March 2020: Assignment 5 is now posted.
• 4 March 2020: Midterm information:
  • In-class at regular lecture time (12:30-1:20pm) on Weds 11 March in Friend 101
  • You can bring a double-sided page of notes. They can be handwritten or typed.
  • No book or calculator is allowed.
  • You'll write on the exam itself. No separate exam book.
  • If you miss for medical reasons, you must provide a doctor's note.
  • We'll have two review sessions, both in Friend 101: Sun 8 March 2-4pm and Mon 9 March 7-9pm
  • Solutions to the midterm practice questions will become available during the Sunday review session.
• 2 March 2020: Midterm practice questions available.
• 1 March 2020: Solutions available now for assignments 1, 2, and 3.
• 28 February 2020: We've been informed that we can't hold office hours in COS 201, so see new OH locations above.
• 24 February 2020: Assignment 4 is now posted.
• 17 February 2020: Assignment 3 is now posted.
• 10 February 2020: Assignment 2 is now posted.
• 3 February 2020: Assignment 1 is now posted.
• 3 February 2020: Watch the screencast on how to get started with Colab.
• 3 February 2020: Watch the screencast on how to get started with Overleaf for your homework.
• 3 February 2020: If you are not able to attend lecture or precept due to University guidelines on the Coronavirus, please email course staff ASAP.
• 3 February 2020: Please fill out the anonymous survey to help us understand your background.
• 3 February 2020: Sign up on the Piazza discussion site.

Precept: Questions and Answers

• Assignment 1 -- Out Mon 3 Feb, Due Weds 12 Feb at 23:55 [hw1.pdf, Overleaf template, hw1.tex, cos302.cls, Gradescope submission, hw1-solutions.pdf]
• Assignment 2 -- Out Mon 10 Feb, Due Weds 19 Feb at 23:55 [hw2.pdf, Overleaf template, hw2.tex, cos302.cls, Gradescope submission, hw2-solutions.pdf]
• Assignment 3 -- Out Mon 17 Feb, Due Weds 26 Feb at 23:55 [hw3.pdf, Overleaf template, hw3.tex, cos302.cls, Gradescope submission, hw3-solutions.pdf]
• Assignment 4 -- Out Mon 24 Feb, Due Weds 4 Mar at 23:55 [hw4.pdf, Overleaf template, mnist2000.pkl cos302.cls, Gradescope submission, hw4-solutions.pdf]
• Assignment 5 -- Out Mon 6 Mar, Due Weds 25 Mar at 23:55 [hw5.pdf, Overleaf template, cos302.cls, dog_names1000.txt, nyt.pkl.gz, Gradescope submission, hw5-solutions.pdf]
• Assignment 6 -- Out Mon 23 Mar, Due Weds 1 Apr at 23:55 [hw6.pdf, hw6.tex, Overleaf template, cos302.cls, Gradescope submission, hw6-solutions.pdf]
• Assignment 7 -- Out Mon 30 Mar, Due Weds 8 Apr at 23:55 [hw7.pdf, hw7.tex, Overleaf template, cos302.cls, Gradescope submission, hw7-solutions.pdf]
• Assignment 8 -- Out Mon 6 Apr, Due Weds 15 Apr at 23:55 [hw8.pdf, hw8.tex, Overleaf template, cos302.cls, Gradescope submission, hw8-solutions.pdf]
• Assignment 9 -- Out Mon 13 Apr, Due Weds 22 Apr at 23:55 [hw9.pdf, hw9.tex, Overleaf template, cos302.cls, Gradescope submission, hw9-solutions.pdf]
• Assignment 10 -- Out Mon 20 Apr, Due Weds 29 Apr at 23:55 [hw10.pdf, hw10.tex, mnist_full.pkl.gz, shakespeare.txt, Overleaf template, cos302.cls, Gradescope submission]
• Assignment 11 -- Out Mon 27 Apr, Due Tues 12 May at 23:55 [hw11.pdf, hw11.tex, Overleaf template, cos302.cls, Gradescope submission,

• Does this course count towards the SML certificate as a "Foundations of ML"? No it does not. This is not a machine learning course in of itself. This course is intended to help you get the background to take machine learning and other courses that require continuous mathematics.
• Does this course count towards the COS applications track? No.
• Can I take this concurrently with MAT 202? Yes.
• Are undergraduates and graduate students graded the same way? Everyone's assignments and exams are graded with the same rubric, but the final grades will be curved separately.
• Are precepts required? You should attend precept. There will be new material presented in precept each week, and the assignments and exams will assume that knowledge.
• Why don't you do late days? It introduces substantial additional bureaucracy and bookkeeping. I would rather that energy be spent working with students and making the course better.
• Will this course be offered every semester? Yes, that is the plan starting from spring 2020.
• What is Metacademy? Metacademy is an exciting online tool developed by Roger Grosse and Colorado Reed for helping you to develop personalized instruction. It's meant to help you manage what you know about different topics and develop an individualized curriculum to learn a new subject.