[bjornsing]

It’s probably a bit off the beaten path, but I can highly recommend Probability Theory, The Logic of Science, by E. T. Jaynes.

In the opening chapter Jaynes describes a hypothetical system he calls “The Robot”. He then lays out the mathematics of the “The Robot’s” thinking in detail: essentially Bayesian probability theory. This is the best summary of an ideal ML/AI system I’ve come across. It’s also very philosophically enlightening.

[sillysaurusx]

I'm so sad the editor chose not to publish Jaynes' C snippets because "they were too cryptic." They would've helped clarify the ideas greatly.

It's a good book, but I don't know how it's related to ML. My own answer would be "Just do it." Find an ML project you like and start tinkering around. But everyone learns differently, so maybe there's a book that can replace experience.

[bjornsing]

How is Jaynes (2003) related to ML? I guess in the same way probability theory is related to ML: it underpins just about every meaningful step forward in ML/AI research, as I see it.

[misiti3780]

seconded! it's a great book.