scikit-learn : Machine Learning Simplified

Chapter 1. The Fundamentals of Machine Learning

In this chapter we will review the fundamental concepts in machine learning. We will discuss applications of machine learning algorithms, the supervised-unsupervised learning spectrum, uses of training and testing data, and model evaluation. Finally, we will introduce scikit-learn, and install the tools required in subsequent chapters.

Our imagination has long been captivated by visions of machines that can learn and imitate human intelligence. While visions of general artificial intelligence such as Arthur C. Clarke's HAL and Isaac Asimov's Sonny have yet to be realized, software programs that can acquire new knowledge and skills through experience are becoming increasingly common. We use such machine ...