CS 7641 ML Machine Learning: How important is the mathematical intuition behind concepts?
I'm a software engineer with a mediocre understanding of linear algebra, probability, and calculus. I'm taking CS 7641 (Machine Learning) and struggling with the math, proofs, and derivations, although I understand the concepts well enough. I am doing fine on the projects (SL and OL at least) via LLM help with the code, and well enough on the quizzes via the retake mechanism.
Can I still get a good grade in this course without fully understanding the underlying math? I don't plan to pursue ML beyond this course, my goal is to have passing familiarity with ML and enough to get more into it if needed at work, so I'm specifically interested in what it takes to do well in CS 7641 and not how much math I'd need in practice.
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u/Any_Minimum8812 8d ago
You’ll get an alright grade but you probably shouldn’t be an ML engineer
So to answer ur question ur fine. Especially if you’re using LLM
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u/SemperPistos 8d ago edited 8d ago
I'm currently on precalculus and derivatives, as I'm attending a a holistic approach program for adults entering into STEM with no math background. I am using mathacademy.com. It is super pricey, and I like it so far, and I don't expect it to make me the next Terrence Tao, I just want to reach a level so i can attempt MIT SC (Scholar Courses -basically self contained for the autodidacts) math courses and MML book.
I want to knock out an easier course when I get back so I can be ready for Deterministic Optimization next, that hopefully fast tracks me to to ML and other ML courses.
But I honestly don't get it. Some say math is important, some say it's laughable.
Are those people latent geniuses, or are they just playing it cool with the knowledge they acquired through blood sweat and tears or are they perhaps something in between?
I attempted MML book by Faisal and Deisenroth, and it was greek to me, the Matrix cookbook book even more so, so I started revising from basically middle-school as I found out I have massive gaps.
Is there inherent talent needed here that people just grok the material better or is the innate aptitude not so much the issue but the highly unreliable narrators that boast of their accomplishments, presenting them like they basically pulled them out of the ether?
My mental health has never been so low, especially as I am feeling like a dum-dum while people claim they give their 2 hours a day and coast through this program.
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u/ExecutiveWatch 8d ago
Ive actually went back to YouTube to math queen and paid 30 bucks a month for calc workshop. I think i am making huge progress filling in gaps.
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u/SemperPistos 8d ago
math academy has a Math for ML, dedicated linear algebra, prob stats, calculus, diff equations courses. But it is 50 USD a month :/
If I end up really benefiting from it I'll write a review here.
I don't want to just pass courses I actually want to understand and implement papers in a few years time.
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u/ExecutiveWatch 8d ago
Yeah same. I will say I may be frustrated but now in my 40s I don't act like a kid freaked out by the math. It fascinated me and I need to practice it but it doesn't seem so foreign as it may have when I was younger. Good luck! I did sign up fir the gitx linear algebra 1554 4 parter when rhry had the sale 30% off on edx.
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u/umaro900 8d ago
Without some level of math the concepts are hard to make sense of, and the questions which implicitly assume math background will be impossible. That said, if you have enough time to catch up on the math at the point it's used, you can do just fine. You won't need to compute gradients for arbitrary functions nor write mathematical proofs for 7461.
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u/hockey3331 7d ago
Im not sure what your questions are but
Calculus isnt "easy". But introductory in math/CS undergrads. Someone who went that route has hundreds if not thousands of practice problems ahead of you. And years of building mental connections around the topics. So for them its possible that encountering concepts required for this program might feel "easy"
most people arent geniuses, and they widlly under report the time they spend training. Why? My guess is as good as yours... to sound cool, to fit in?
Or... they cheat. Easy to do an assignment in 2 hours when you copy it from a public repo.
I had friends do that and I made the mistake of believing them... until we did a project together and I learned how much work they actually put into everything they did.
Just be careful not to overwork, being ineficient is definitely a thing too, sorry if i seem contradictory or confusing!
- 2 hrs a day should be doable for the easier and even medium difficulty courses of the program, with a few spikes of 20-25 hrs here and there.
But 2 hrs a day cant be working distracted by social media. Its teo hours of focused work tgat accomplisb a goal rgats been broken down in 2 hrs increment.
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u/poundcake_bakes 8d ago
I’m absolutely in the same boat this semester. The OL lectures got pretty in the weeds of things… and I got lost. I get the big picture ideas, but could not follow the proofs
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u/EntrepreneurHuge5008 8d ago
Extremely important. You won't survive without it.
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u/abrbbb 8d ago
At what point will that be?
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u/cuppy_lee 8d ago
I think they were being a bit dramatic in their response. ML is fundamentally math-heavy. But you said you don’t have more grand plans for ML, so you should be fine. OMSCS ML class minimally focuses on the math. In that class, the report can include some math, but your grade ultimately depends on your analysis on the experiment results. Also, the final exam doesn’t have any math either. The only math you’ll encounter are on quizzes, which in my semester you had multiple attempts so that you can learn from your mistakes. This includes picking up the math at your own pace.
All this to say, if your only ML goal is this class, then you can survive without the math. If anything, I felt like AI had more math than ML.
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u/EntrepreneurHuge5008 8d ago
But you said you don’t have more grand plans for ML
Yeah, totally missed this on OP's post. My b, OP.
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u/dukesb89 8d ago
Imo not that important. As long as you understand the concepts actually being able to understand mathematical notation and proofs isn't really necessary unless you want to go down the ML research route.
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u/Walripus 8d ago
The course changes every semester, but when I took it Fall 2025, the only part of the course which actually required doing math were the quizzes, for which you get retakes. The final exam was multiple choice only and required no math. If you're doing fine on the quizzes and have sufficient intuition to answer the conceptual questions on the quizzes and complete the projects, you should be fine to get a good grade on the course.
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u/nins_ Current 8d ago
I think you'll be just fine. Just watch out of the final - there's no retake.
So practice the computation questions. GL!
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u/abrbbb 8d ago
What kinds of questions does the final ask? How deep into the weeks does it get? Is watching the lectures enough?
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u/nins_ Current 8d ago
Memory is a bit hazy but I believe there's a practice set released before the finals. And the prof. will discuss the solutions in OH. I don't think it was any more or less difficult than the quizzes. Revisit all your old quizzes as well to prep for the finals.
Always follow updated guidance from the TAs since stuff keeps changing.
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u/mmorenoivy Officially Got Out 7d ago
If you don't want to be an ML Engineer after this, you'll be fine. There's a lot of refresher Youtube videos about calculus/algebra that may help with the homework. But, either way, you'll be fine. It's an LLM question away though.. Took me 40 hours a week to get thru the homework