[DoubleFree]

Matrix math in python is a bit clunkier, because matrices are not native to the language. That said, numpy, the standard for matrix math in python, is quite nice. Its documentation is, imo, miles ahead of matlab's and the APIs are a bit more sane.

[jcadam]

This brings up a good point. If the goal is to understand the underlying concepts, it's quite possible Octave is a better tool. Matrix math is fairly clunky in any mainstream programming language.