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A visual guide to Bayesian thinking

Julia Galef

180K subscribers • 1 video on Hallway

YouTube
  • Recommended by 3 people: 3 on Hacker News.
  • A classic. People kept recommending it from 2017 to 2021.
  • Presented by Julia Galef, co-founder of the Center for Applied Rationality
  • May be out of date. Uploaded 11 years ago, in an area where tools change fast.

Beginner. No background in the topic needed.

2.1M views11 years ago3 recommendations

Computer scienceAI and machine learningMath for machine learningMath for programmers

Julia Galef explains the mechanics of Bayes' rule using visual diagrams and shares real-life examples of updating beliefs with new evidence.

I use pictures to illustrate the mechanics of "Bayes' rule," a mathematical theorem about how to update your beliefs as you encounter new evidence. Then I tell three stories from my life that show how I use Bayes' rule to improve my thinking.

Why it's here

3 people recommend this

What people say. Highly recommended as an exceptionally clear and accessible introduction to Bayesian probability and rational thinking.

mathzthrowaway6on Hacker News • Recommends

On “The Kolmogorov option”

…improve your mathematical reasoning. 2. 30 minute break. 3. Read section 2 (approx 5 minutes). Goal: enlightenment. 1. The most important mathematical video you will ever see in your life. Firstly, unless you are a practicing mathematician this is the most important mathematical video you will ever see in your life. It is purely about mathematics: link to this video Watch it. Suppose that you take an hour and learn this. You have just improved your rational thinking forever. - Break. Please now take a 30-minute break. During this time you can reflect and assimilate the knowledge you have learned. - 2. The most important social insight you will read in any comment. This section requires you to understan…

mathzthrowaway6on Hacker News • Recommends

On “The Kolmogorov option”

…5 minutes). Goal: social insight. 4. Generalize the insight just gained. Goal: make the example more practical. This is an exercise for the reader. ---------- 1. One of the most important mathematical videos you will ever see. Firstly, unless you are a practicing mathematician this is one of the most important mathematical video you will ever see: link to this video Watch it. As a result you will improve your rational thinking forever. - Break. I suggest you next take a 30-minute break. During this time you can reflect on and assimilate the knowledge you have learned. - 2. An important social insight. This section requires you to understand section 1. Next, suppose that you are perfectly rational. We w…

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On “Google says Nest’s built-in mic not listed in specs was not meant to be secret”

>You have two options, choose one: Your analysis is sensible. Where we should choose the most likely explanation, it might become sharper: - In case you're not familiar with it, one helpful tool is prior probability (Bayesian thinking). This video is short and accessible: link to this video - There is a public intelligence budget in 2018 of $54.9 billion in the United States1, as compared with the combined annual R&D expenditure of Apple, Google, Intel, and Microsoft at $53.2 billion2. This employs over 100,000 people3. - According to Snowden, they covertly use microphones.4 He had reporters put their mobile phones in a fridge/microwave, since they could be turned on remotely. A sensible assump…

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On “How is efficacy vs. severe disease strong if 60% of hospitalized are vaccinated?”

Bayesian statistics at play here... Good explanation: link to this video Imagine a world where there are 100 unvax and 9 million vaxed, now even if vaccines are 99% effective, you'd get 9M x 0.01 = 90k vax and sick.